Paris Apartment, The

New
Hardcover
2014
$34.59

When April Vogt's boss tells her about the discoveries in a cramped, decrepit ninth arrondissement apartment, the Sotheby's continental furniture specialist does not hear the words dust or rats or shuttered for seventy years. She hears Paris. She hears escape. Once in France, April quickly learns the apartment is not merely some rich hoarder's repository. Beneath the dust and cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there's a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque. And then there are letters and journals written by the woman in the painting, documents showing she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly it's no longer about the bureau plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It's about a life. Two lives, actually. With the help of a salty (and annoyingly sexy) Parisian solicitor and the courtesan's private documents, April tries to uncover the secrets buried in the apartment. As she digs into one woman's life, April can't help but take a deeper look into her own. When the two things she left bubbling back in the States begin to boil over, April starts to wonder whether she'll ever find-in the apartment, or in her life - just what she's looking for.

Synopsis

When April Vogt's boss tells her about the discoveries in a cramped, decrepit ninth arrondissement apartment, the Sotheby's continental furniture specialist does not hear the words dust or rats or shuttered for seventy years. She hears Paris. She hears escape. Once in France, April quickly learns the apartment is not merely some rich hoarder's repository. Beneath the dust and cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there's a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque. And then there are letters and journals written by the woman in the painting, documents showing she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly it's no longer about the bureau plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It's about a life. Two lives, actually. With the help of a salty (and annoyingly sexy) Parisian solicitor and the courtesan's private documents, April tries to uncover the secrets buried in the apartment. As she digs into one woman's life, April can't help but take a deeper look into her own. When the two things she left bubbling back in the States begin to boil over, April starts to wonder whether she'll ever find-in the apartment, or in her life - just what she's looking for.

$34.59

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Published: 01 Jun 2014
ISBN 10: 1250048737
ISBN 13: 9781250048738

Media Reviews

With its well-developed, memorable characters and the author's skillful transitioning between story lines...this stunning and fascinating debut will capture the interest of a wide audience but particularly those interested in stories about women behind famous men like Melanie Benjamin's The Aviator's Wife or Nancy Horan's Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Highly recommended. --Library Journal (starred review)

The women's fiction world is lucky to welcome Michelle Gable to its ranks. In A Paris Apartment, Gable deftly weaves romance, mystery, past and present into a wonderful page-turner that will have readers clamoring for her next book. --Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author

A Paris Apartment winds between past and present, between two passionate women and their lives, loves and fortunes. Informed and assured, debut author Gable's prose is fresh and emotionally complex. Glimpses into Parisian life, the arts, and the high-end antiquities trade are piquant accents to an exceptional mystery. --Sophie Littlefield, national bestselling author

The past and present intertwine in Michelle Gable's sparkling debut, which sings of the Belle Epoque, French romance, and a few secrets that change everything. --Kristin Harmel, internationally bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting

A charming read about a fascinating history and the woman behind it. --Historical Novel Society

Gable's Paris of today and yesteryear are worlds that are easy and pleasurable to get lost in. April's and Marthe's stories intersect, at times blatantly and at times subtly mirroring or contrasting one another. ...This parallel construction, the sense of place and atmosphere, and Gable's often witty writing are the book's greatest strengths. --The San Diego Union-Tribune

Pick it up as the perfect escape--you'll quickly be whisked away through the vividly described scenery and events of life in Paris. --Spa Weekly Daily

This debut novel is a keeper. It will definitely stay with you long after you finish the last page. --Chicklit Club

The inspiration for A Paris Apartment began in 2010 when Gable's agent sent her an intriguing article with the note: 'I think you can do something with this.' A real-life Parisian flat, abandoned for 70 years, its contents frozen in time? Absolutely, she could. --Celeste Williams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Love, art, history, Paris -- what more can you ask for? --FineBooks Magazine

Vive le Paris apartment! --Booklist

You'll be quickly drawn in...there are reasons galore why this story is compelling....A fun and insightful novel. --Maine Antique Digest

Author Bio

MICHELLE GABLE graduated from the College of William & Mary. She currently resides in Cardiff by the Sea, California, with her husband, two daughters, and one lazy cat. A Paris Apartment is her first novel.