A book review:
The Velvet Hours
Reviewed by Tongue in Cheek Blog Reader and dear friend Jackie Lantry:
I was interested in reading The Velvet Hours primarily because of the “frozen in time/Parisian apartment” pictures I’d seen online.
The luxury apartment, belonging to Marthe De Florian (an actress, demimonde and socialite during the Belle Epoque,) was shuttered as the Germans marched their way toward Paris during WWII. Filled with gilt, brocade, original artwork and other trappings of lavish life, it was-literally-an elegant time capsule, and a once in a lifetime discover.
With a list of lovers that included the likes of George Clemenceau (72nd prime minister of France,) and painter Giovanni Boldini, who wasn’t drawn in when they saw those photos and read the captioned tidbits about De Florian’s life?
The result was a spate of books, most thrown together to capitalize on the fascinating find. Alyson Richman’s version, decidedly not of that ilk, delicately braids fact and fiction into a luminous tale of love, life’s hardships, hedonism and eventually, redemption
As story goes between the late 1800’s and the 1940’s, Richman skillfully reveals Paris during the Belle Epoque, the fascinating lives of the demimonde and the affect of WWII on the city of light.
Born into a difficult life with few options, protagonist Marthe turns to the (then scandalous) theater, eventually abandoning her child and becoming a kept woman. Her life becomes more and more grand, but as a demimonde her hedonism became off-putting.
I suppose we all unconsciously continue to carry that which we thought we (consciously) left behind. This can lead to ruin or redemption. The death of her lover, war bearing down on Paris and a blossoming relationship with granddaughter Solange offers Marthe a chance at redemption on several levels.
“Light and shadow exist in every life,” and Richman skillfully allows us to witness the light revealed in Marthe de Florian’s life.
Thinking I was going to read a storybook accounting of a “frozen in time” Paris apartment, Richman instead took me on a journey through which (like Solange) I came to see humanity in the shadow side of life.
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Have you read it? If so what are your thoughts?
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