A Study in Scarlet | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCSpin

 

I've been wanting to read a Sherlock Holmes story for a long time now. I purchased my lovely Knickerbocker classic editions about five years ago with the good intentions of reading them in chronological order. Ever since then, I have been putting A Study in Scarlet on my CC Spin list, in the hope it would give me the good excuse I obviously needed to finally get started. 

Last month, CC Spin #24 was the charm!

And I am now a convert to the Victorian world of Sherlock Holmes. I may be a little influenced by certain images from recent movie versions though, as in my head, Holmes looks rather like Robert Downey Jr and Watson looks quite a bit like Jude Law.

My edition has an Introduction by Roger Boylan, who helped me to understand that it was in fact, Watson, who was more like Doyle, in personality, than Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes is surely the one fictional character who is not only more famous than his creator, but whose personality, attitudes and interests are so completely his own, so different from those of his creator.

 

A Study in Scarlet is a quick, easy read. Many reports have suggested that this is not the best Holmes story by any means, which gives me high hopes for what comes next, as I thoroughly enjoyed this gentle, rather charming, 'consulting detective' story.

Narrated by Dr John Watson and set in 1881, we see Holmes through the eyes and opinions of others. Watson, of course, is our main source, but we also hear from the friend of the friend "Holmes is a little too scientific for my tastes - it approaches to cold-bloodedness", and even Holmes himself, "I get in the dumps at times, and don't open my mouth for days on end."

I really enjoyed seeing how Holmes and Watson met for the first time, and part of the pleasure of this story, is watching Watson, watching Holmes, as he experiences for the first time how Holmes likes to solve cases.

This one begins with a dead American, a message scrawled in blood across the wall and a ring. Holmes describes this case as,

the finest study I ever came across: a study in scarlet....There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.

Act two of the story is a bit clunky albeit fascinating as we unexpectedly get a back story about the Mormon's arrival in Utah (which was new to me and therefore very interesting. So much of US history seems to be tied up with religious fanatics and separatists, discord and intolerance). 

Part way through this back story, some of the names start becoming familiar and we, the reader, realise we are getting the motive for the murders.

This section of the story caused Doyle some problems in later years. The Mormons were unhappy about how they had been depicted, especially the influence and behaviour of the Danite Band, who he described as being controlling, secretive, murderous thugs. At one point he came out and said, 

all I said about the Danite Band and the murders is historical so I cannot withdraw that, though it is likely that in a work of fiction it is stated more luridly than in a work of history. It's best to let the matter rest.

Rather like an Agatha Christie whodunnit, the secret to discovering the who, why, when and how, with Holmes, is about understanding motivations and learning to see what is a clue and what is red herring. Holmes appears to be particularly skilled in this area.

A Study is Scarlet was thoroughly entertaining, and I will be back for more.

Facts:

• Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 Edinburgh, Scotland – 7 July 1930 Crowborough, East Sussex) 
• Conan is one of his middle names (after his godfather, Michael Conan), not a part of his surname.
• That is, he should be shelved under the 'D's not the 'C's!
• Graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery from the University of Edinburgh in 1881.
• Holmes was based on one of Doyle's university lecturers, Joseph Bell, 'round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate I have tried to build up a man.'
• Written in three weeks in 1886.
• Original title: A Tangled Skein.
• Published in 1887 in Beeton's Christmas Annual & illustrated by David Henry Friston.
• First book published in July 1888 by Ward, Lock & Co & illustrated by ACD's father, Charles Doyle.
• Doyle had five children with two wives. But no grandchildren. 

Favourite or Forget:

• My very first Sherlock Holmes story & I'm in!
• Will definitely read more.
• I love a good origin story & this, the first meeting of Holmes and Watson is memorable for it's ordinariness. The age-old 'friend of a friend' introduction for two people in need of a room mate.
• The Mormon back story may suffer from some historical inaccuracies or exaggerations, but it is memorable nonetheless.

Other books by Arthur Conan Doyle, read and reviewed by me:

• The Tragedy of the Korosko

CC Spin #24

Heartstopper Vol 2 & 3 | Alice Oseman #GraphicNovel

 

After thoroughly enjoying my time with Charlie, and his new boyfriend Nick in Heartstopper Vol 1, I knew I had to complete the trilogy to see how things turned out for them. 

The being in love part turns out to be pretty easy for these two sweet guys in Heartstopper Vols 2 & 3. The hard part is coming out to everyone at school. 

Last year Charlie was badly bullied when some kids at school found out he was gay. Naturally he's reluctant to be the centre of school gossip once again. For Nick, things are a little more complicated. He likes girls, and now he also realises he likes guys. As the captain of the football team, this is not an easy thing to come to terms with. How does he tell his family that he's bisexual and what if he gets bullied like Charlie did last year?

By the end of Vol 2, Nick has told his mum, and together, they have told a few close friends.

Vol 3 sees the boys very excited, planning a school trip to Paris. There's a lot of cute stuff about them working out how to be good boyfriends to each other, how to talk openly about what's going on for them, how they feel etc.

They tell a few more people, and realise that most people are cool with them being together. The Paris trip goes well until Charlie faints one day at the Louvre, and Nick starts wondering what else is going on for Charlie.

Oseman leaves us with a cliff hanger in Vol 3 as we see Nick google what he suspects is Charlie's problem, which leaves ME to assume that a Vol 4 is in the works! Huzzah!

This is pure teen romance from start to finish.

Sweet, gentle and awkward. 

A Testament of Character | Sulari Gentill #CosyCrime

 

A Testament of Character is book 10 in the Rowland Sinclair Mystery series, and really, if you haven't dipped your toes into this series yet, you really don't know what you're missing! While my love for the Maisie Dobbs series (see previous review) has waxed and waned a little, my love for Rowly and his three friends has never wavered. 

Gentill has consistently written well constructed, endearing and historically accurate stories. Set between the wars in Sydney, although she's not afraid to take us on around the world to keep the story lines fresh and interesting. 

Book 9 saw us having some rather scary experiences with Rowly in Shanghai, so it was nice to start this book in the Raffles Hotel, Singapore with our beloved four relaxing and rejuvenating in the style they know best - jazz, good food and liquor, cards and dancing. Until the sudden death of a good friend sees them all flying off to New York.

Naturally, things do not run smoothly or go to plan. But what's the point of writing a mystery series without complications, and well, a mystery?!

Once again, Gentill puts one of our beloved four into a very compromising and dangerous situation that has this particular reader fearful for their life and limb.

It was curious to read two books in a row that included Joe Kennedy as a peripheral character. In Maisie Dobbs he was the rather dubious US ambassador in London, and with Rowly he was attending a party at the Hearst penthouse hosted by Marion Davies. His best side did not shine through in either book! 

It is these brushes with well-known historical figures that I find most endearing in the Rowland Sinclair series. Our time in the US sees Rowly and friends chatting with Orson Wells, fighting off the remnants of the Gustin Gang and Joe Lombardo's gangsters in Boston, playing one of the first sets of the Parker Brothers Monopoly game and meeting up with F, Scott Fitzgerald for a drink (or five!) at the Grovepark Inn, Asheville, and later with Zelda at the nearby Highland Hospital.

But now I think it's time for our intrepid travellers to return home, unless Gentill decides to detour them via London, so they be there for the death of King George V and the coronation and abdication of King Edward the VIII.

#1 A Few Right Thinking Men

What I loved about this book: the witty dialogue, the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (which my own grandparents attended on their honeymoon in 1932).
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: all that stuff about the New Guard, fascism in Australia and Eric Campbell.

#2 A Decline in Prophets

What I loved about this book: the art deco cover, a Cary Grant cameo, the Bohemian lifestyle & a cruise to New York.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Norman Lindsay's Blue Mountains soirée's

#3 Miles Off Course

What I loved about this book: the visit to the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath, more Norman Lindsay & a run-in with Stella Miles Franklin
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: meeting Rowly's half brother for the first time.

#4 Paving the New Road

What I loved about this book: meeting a young, naive Eva Braun as well as Nancy Wake and Unity Mitford. Flying lessons with Kingsford-Smith.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: who is Egon Kisch? The horror of Rowly's kidnapping and torture by the SA (Ernst Rӧhm).

#5 Gentlemen Formerly Dressed

What I (loved) about this book: how history has taught us nothing - how Brexit, isolationist policies and right wing thinking is once again dominating our politics.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Fascism in London 1933 & eugenics.

#6 A Murder Unmentioned

What I loved about this book: the Sinclair family backstory - domestic violence and murder.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: A young Bob Menzies made an appearance.

#7 Give the Devil His Due

What I loved about this book: an appearance by Errol Flynn and the seedier side of 1933 Sydney. The development of more complex, nuanced relationships between our four friends as well as Rowly's extended family.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Maroubra speedway.

Prequel - The Prodigal Son (e-book only - download your copy here.)

What I loved about this book: the very first meeting of Rowly, Edna, Clyde and Milton.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Gentill can draw too - her illustrations graced the pages of this e-book novella.

#8 - A Dangerous Language

What I loved about this book: 1935 Canberra & Melbourne and the increasing frisson between Rowly and Edna.
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Gentill plans to continue the series until the end of WWII. I don't mind the new covers, but I loved the previous art deco covers more - they were more stylish and Bohemian to my mind.

#9 - All the Tears in China

What I loved about this book: 1935 Shanghai, Sir Victor Sassoon and the colourful cover (although I would have liked to see the art deco cover for this too!)
What I learnt or want to remember about this book: Russian revolution refugees in Shanghai & the horrific conditions in Ware Road Gaol.

#10 - A Testament of Youth

What I loved about this book: The little nod to Brideshead Revisited, Hugh Lygon and his teddy bear - it would seem that our dearly departed Danny stole his teddy bear when they were at Oxford together!

What I learnt or want to remember about this book: How long it took to fly to NY in 1935 - just 14 days!

Book 12 or 20 Books of Summer Winter

Maisie Dobbs #15 An American Agent | Jacqueline Winspear #CosyCrime

Maisie and I go way back.

We've weathered the good times and the bad, and we've survived the time we nearly went our separate ways. But we've made it to book 15 and I now suspect I'm in it for the long haul. Below is our journey.

• Maisie Dobbs #1
• Back in the day when I wrote very brief book responses, this is what I had to say about the very first Maisie: 

Light and easy, but with enough going on to keep it a cut above the rest. Set after WW1 in London, Winspear is obviously concerned about the way war affects people long after the fighting is over. Her characters are all shell-shocked in one way or another and the fall-out continues to impact years later.
Maisie is a detective who uses the new ideas of psychology & intuition to help solve crimes. The first book gives lots of fascinating WW1 back story.

• Maisie Dobbs #2 Birds of a Feather
• I love the Maisie stories. They quickly became my cosy, comfort read but I didn't always feel the need to write about them. Book 2 showed us Maisie getting stuck into her new role as a private investigation, utilising her skills of intuition and psychology.

• Maisie Dobbs #3 Pardonable Lies
• By book 3, I considered Maisie to be a friend.

Pardonable Lies sees Maisie return to France to help solve 2 cases of missing presumed dead soldiers. The case becomes dangerous as she uinknowingly gets too close to matters that the secret service would rather nobody knows about.

In some ways the mystery is the cover story in all the Maisie Dobbs books. They're simply a way of getting to know Maisie, her world and her times much better.

• Maisie Dobbs #4 Messenger of Truth
• A story about murder in the art world of London 1931 that brings up some dark WWI memories for Maisie. The gradual reveal about Maisie's past life is what draws me into these stories each and every time. She's a character I want to get to know.

• Maisie Dobbs #5 An Incomplete Revenge
• A trip to rural Kent to solve a set of mysterious crimes, once again brings ups WWI secrets, for Maisie and her clients.

• Maisie Dobbs #6 Among the Mad

Many of her adventures centre around the after effects of WW1 on returning soldiers and nurses. This story is no different as it mixes personal issues with political issues.

The government has received threats against public safety from a wounded soldier bent on being heard. This leads Maisie and her colleagues on a search through the various factions forming in England expressing discontent with the establishment.

There is nothing difficult or alarming in this story. A vague melancholy hangs over most of the Maisie books despite Maisie's charms and abilities.

For me this makes the perfect winter read.

• Maisie Dobbs #7 The Mapping of Love and Death
• This was another story that takes us all back to stuff that happened in WWI, when the remains of a soldier are discovered and his family are convinced that his death was not a usual war death.

• Maisie Dobbs #8 A Lesson in Secrets

Maisie's strong, no nonsense approach to life was the perfect antidote for winter blues.

My only concern for this book was that even with the change of career, a move to Cambridge & the flush of new romance, Maisie, herself somehow felt a little stale.

For the first time, I felt the intrusion of Winspear in these books. I could almost see the author stalking the pages trying to work out what direction she would like take Maisie next. She's aware something needs to change, but she wasn't quite ready to tackle it in this book. It felt like she was the laying the groundwork for what comes next....at least I hope that's what she was doing!

Because as much as I love Maisie, I want to see he grow and mature and move onto new things if that's what she needs to do. I'd hate to see her stagnate.

• Maisie Dobbs #9 Elegy for Eddie

Maisie Dobbs is smart, thoughtful & reserved. She's a flawed character with a tragic past. She's strong, determined and above all, honest. Integrity, honour and justice are traits that she tries to live by and work with. Which can be challenging when you're a private investigator asked to check into the suspicious death of a childhood chum.

Each of Maisie's cases reveals a little more about her past and how this impacts on the way she manages her life and relationships now.

Maisie's war time experiences have had a huge impact on her. Her psychological training not only coming in handy to solve the crime, but to give her insight into her own actions and behaviours.

Part of the pleasure is the setting - between wars London. This book is full of visits to Covent Garden in all its working class grittiness. Tea shops, costermongers, stables, factories, fog and the River Thames all feature regularly. Winspear helps to bring it to life though thanks to the memories and stories told to her by her father.

• Maisie Dobbs #10 Leaving Everything Most Loved

It is now 1933 and Winspear deftly weaves a modern day issue into her historical fiction. Scotland Yard requires Maisie's help to solve the problem of two murdered Indian women. The impact of racism, colonialism and the class system (in both England and India) all come under scrutiny via Winspear's more familiar themes of belonging, self-reflection and the lingering after effects of trauma and prejudice.

Maisie spends a lot of time analysing her own thoughts and behaviours as well as employing this skill to help her solve each case. Up until the past couple of books, Maisie was making progress. Her use of psychology, intuition and meditation was interesting.

However, I do feel that Winspear has now got bogged down with the romance between Maisie and James Compton. We all want Maisie to be happy in love, but at the same time, getting married and settling down with a family wont work for future story lines. Curiously part of the success of these stories is Maisie's continuing misery. What will happen to the series if Maisie finally finds happiness?

How can Winspear solve this dilemma?

• Maisie Dobbs #11 A Dangerous Place

Suddenly it is 1937 and Maisie is in Gibraltar.

Four years have gone by and she is still being referred to as Miss Dobbs.

A quick flashback via some letters and newspaper articles fill us in on the continuing misery of Maisie. I confess I nearly cried.

Unlike many of Maisie's loyal followers, though, I wasn't disappointed by this great leap forward.

Winspear had to do something dramatic to change the direction of the series. Maisie had reached an emotional stalemate at the end of the previous book. Whatever came next had to propel the series onto a new level or wrap things up for good.

I never bought the whole James and Maisie romance - it felt too convenient. And I was still holding a torch for Detective Richard Statton who rode off into the sunset with his young son and the end of book 8.

Bringing us closer to WWII politicking and the double-dealing of spies, was a smart move by Winspear. It may have been a bit clunky in execution, but it's what the series needed.

A Dangerous Place refers to the Spanish Civil War and the fate of refugees. I like how Winspear is gently drawing a line between historical events and current world affairs.

Obviously a new war will give Maisie plenty of opportunity to reflect on and confront her experiences as a WWI nurse. However, her ongoing angst is getting a little tired (although more than understandable), so I do hope that Winspear allows Maisie some psychological and emotional peace soon.

• Maisie Dobbs #12 Journey to Munich

During my recent blogging malaise, Maisie Dobbs kept me sane and calm. She is familiar, comfortable and cosy. Although some of the crimes are getting a little nasty now that Hitler is involved, Winspear still avoids gory details and gruesome forensic descriptions, for which I am eternally grateful!

Journey to Munich sees Maisie being recruited by the secret service to do some spying in 1938 Germany. You do have to suspend a little belief whilst reading these later books in the Maisie Dobbs series, but the goodwill engendered in the earlier books has been enough to keep me going. I've never been a spy myself, so I'm happy to accept that Maisie's approach to undercover work could, well, work (despite the doubts of other reviewers on Goodreads).

To be honest, I don't care that much. I don't read the Maisie Dobbs books for an accurate how-to on spying or detective work. I read them for the relationships, the personal journey of Maisie herself and for the feel-good effect they have on me.

I also read them for the historical fiction element. The books are set between the two world wars in England - a period of time that has fascinated me forever.

With Maisie's trip to 1938 Munich and her brush with Hitler's henchmen, Winspear is preparing the way for a change in direction. I'm feeling a growing sense of trepidation for Maisie's best friend, Priscilla and her family of boys. Boys who will be coming of age as WWII starts.

• Maisie Dobbs #13 In This Grave Hour

As the title suggests, WWII has just been declared. And as with any long running series, some books are better than others. In the early stages of this one, I thought we had one of the lesser Maisie's on our hands. It felt a little clunky, like it was trying too hard to find the Maisie magic of old. But as we went along, the pace picked up and Winspear found her groove. The regular, much-loved cast of characters add the heart and soul to this story and they all got a chance to shine in this story, especially Maisie's dad, who I just adore.

The crime centred around the revenge-styled murders of Belgium refugees from WWI, but the emotional heart of the story involved the children evacuated from London during the early days of the wars announcement. Maisie also got to revisit an old flame in the guise of Richard Stratton, recalled to London to help with the war effort.

After feeling so fearful for Priscilla's young adults sons in the previous book, In This Grave Hour brings the sense of tension back a few notches. This reflected the anti-climax that occurred in England after the initial announcement when nothing actually happened, leading the early stages of WWII to be called the phoney war or the bore war. 

Her happy mix of empathy and rational thought is a combination that I find endearing and admirable. Spending time with such kind hearted, well-meaning people will always feel like a good thing to do.

• Maisie Dobbs #14 To Die But Once

Definitely one of the better Maisie's - after waiting around for the war to start, the boys are now seeing some action and we're all extremely concerned and worried for Billy's young men and Pricillia's family of boys.

A far bit of the action occurs around the Dunkirk retreat with the death of a young painter working for the government, painting airfields as the raison d'être for Maisie being in the area.

Easy to read, like spending time with an old friend.

• Maisie Dobbs #15 An American Agent

Now that WWII is in full swing, the Maisie stories have returned to form. An interesting mystery/crime for Maisie to sink her teeth into and oodles of relationship drama with her family and friends and their young men now fighting in this new war. 

Maisie and her friend, Priscilla have resumed their WWI nursing duties, this time driving ambulances around London to assist with the after effects of the Blitz. Maisie is in the process of adopting an orphaned refugee girl from Book 13 and Priscilla is trying to help her eldest son come to terms with being an amputee. And a romantic interest from Book 11 returns to tempt Maisie to think about something other than war and crime and adoption paperwork.

It's nice to see Maisie less absorbed by her own angst these days. She has grown and matured and has finally moved away from the ghosts of WWI. She still bears the scars, but is now strengthened by her previous experiences, not traumatised.

 A real P.I could no doubt drive a bus through the flaws in Maisie's criminal reasoning, but her empathy and personal commitment to each case is what makes these cosy crime stories, so cosy and so comforting for this particular reader.

A quick, easy read that is perfect for a cold winter's day.

Book 11 of 20 Books of Summer Winter

Maigret and the Killer | Georges Simenon #ParisinJuly

A big part of the reason I love reading Maigret's so much is the glimpse into life in Paris in the middle of the 20th century. Maigret and the Killer opens with Mrs Maigret and her man, dining out with friends discussing the merits of the Madame Pardon's 'unparalleled boeuf bourguignon...filling, yet refined', provincial cookery that was 'born of necessity', whilst finishing off the meal with the obligatory 'coffee and calvados'.

This is the 70th book in the series and the year is 1969. The setting is Quai d'Anjou - the home of the young man killed in the first chapter. His parents are the wealthy owners of a cosmetic company. A stroll around the Quai d'Anjou is definitely on the cards if I ever return to Paris in real life!

As always, time with Maigret is easy. He may be getting stressed out by the details of the crime, but all the reader has to do is simply sit back and enjoy the ride. It's a pleasure watching how Maigret works to solve the case. It's a joy to walk the streets of Paris with him and I never get tired of watching him eat. Whether its a golden tench baked in the oven, or 'rilletes made locally, coq au vin blanc and, after goat's cheese, rum babas' washed down with a little after dinner cognac, Maigret looks forward to each and every meal.

And I look forward to each and every Maigret.

Facts: 

• This Penguin edition was published 2019.
• Originally titled Maigret et le tueur. 
• Translated by Shaun Whiteside.

My Maigret's:

• 23. Signe Picpus (1944)
• 30. Maigret's First Case (1949)
• 43. Maigret's Mistake (1953)
• 61. Maigret's Anger (1963)
• 62. Maigret and the Ghost (1964)
• 70. Maigret and the Killer (1969)
• A Maigret Christmas

#ParisinJuly

Book 6 of 20 Books of Summer Winter

The Good Turn | Dervla McTiernan #AWW

Police procedural is not my usual fare, but sometimes book club leads me down a path I wouldn't choose for myself, yet it turns out okay in the end. I very nearly used the 'not enough time' excuse to not read this book, but a recent rainy weekend gave me a chance to check it out. I was curious to see if I could read the third book in a detective series and still follow what was happening (it's a question we often get asked at work - for this series and many others).

I can happily say that The Good Turn can be read as a stand alone story in it's own right, although the main detective, Cormac Reilly obviously has some relationship issues that get played out over the other two stories (The Ruin and The Scholar). 

Galway is the Irish city at the centre of this story featuring a young Garda, Peter Fisher who gets caught up in a case of office politics and corrupt cops. The story is pretty straight forward, but the two main characters in this drama are very likeable (I hope McTiernan creates more appearances for Fisher. I enjoyed watching a young officer learn the ropes).

Not sure what else I can say really, without giving away the story. 

McTiernan's style is easy to read and pretty gentle. She's not an advocate of the red herring (unlike Agatha Christie), there is very little blood, guts and gore and absolutely no intense forensic detail (a big plus in my books!) In fact, it felt like a cross between an episode of The Bill and Ballykissangel. Again, that's a good thing. There was a gentleness, or a kindness inherent in The Good Turn. Even though there were bad cops and bad guys, the general tone was one of people trying to do their best, sometimes in tough situations.

I enjoyed my time in McTiernan's world well enough, but cop books are just not my thing. I don't feel the need to read any more, yet I can see how these books and this author could attract a following. 

McTiernan was an Irish lawyer who emigrated to Australia after the GFC. With two young children, she chose to work part-time and write, eventually securing a publisher, and now a TV deal. She lives in Perth, WA with her young family. I noticed that Garda Peter Fisher mentioned, in passing, something about moving to Australia when he was feeling disaffected with his career path - perhaps McTiernan is laying the ground work for a spin-off detective series set in Australia? I'm sure her fans would be delighted.

The Conquest of Plassans | Émile Zola #FRAclassic

La Conquête de Plassans, or The Conquest of Plassans (1874) is the fourth novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume Rougon-Macquart series that I have been reading with Fanda for #Zoladdiction. My Oxford World's Classics 2014 edition is translated by Helen Constantine and has an Introduction by *Patrick McGuinness. He reminded me that,

Like all of Zola's fiction, (The Conquest of Plassans) is also a novel of human truth told with drama, symbolism, lyricism, and imaginative power.

It's set between 1858 and 1864, straight after the events in the very first book, The Fortune of the Rougons. The central drama follows the political machinations of the Catholic Church and the Second Empire against the disaffected rural provinces. A topic, I confess I knew very little about. Even Wikipedia acknowledges the difficulty for modern readers with this now little-known historical period.

Although the novel does assume in its readers a degree of familiarity with the battle between clerical political interests and governmental influence in the provincial towns of the Second Empire - knowledge which Zola's contemporary readers would certainly have taken for granted, but which seems obscure and almost arcane now - its strength lies not in its politics but in its human drama. On the face of it this could have been a relatively dull series of political observations, but instead by the end it is almost a melodrama, such is the anticlerical fury which Zola instils in his work.

To help me get my head around all the French Empires and Republics, I created my own little timeline below.

• Kingdom of France 987 - 1872
• First Republic 1872 - 1804 
• Napoléon Bonaparte
• First Empire 1804 - 1815 
• Napoléon I
• Bourbon Restoration 1815 - 1830 
• Louis XVIII (1814-1824) 
• Charles X (1824-1830)
• July Monarchy 1830 - 1848
• Louis Philippe I
• Second Republic 1848 - 1852 
• President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
• Second French Empire 1852 - 1870 
• Napoleon III
• Third Republic 1870 - 1940 
• Vichy Government 1940 - 1944 
• Philippe Pétain
• Provisional Government of the French Republic 1944 - 1946 
• Charles de Gaulle
• Fourth Republic 1946 - 1958
• Fifth Republic 1958 - present

Plassans is now in the hands of the Rougon family as we saw in the first book. They are Bonapartists. The bloody nature of his succession, with all it's betrayals and double-dealing, left a bad taste in the mouth of the locals. As this story begins in 1858, the Legitimists (or Royalists) have political favour.

Abbé Faujas', the new man in town (and surely the epitome of literary stranger danger), has his own self-interests at heart. As does Félicité Rougon, the matriarch of the family and the unofficial ruler of Plassans. She may appear to be helping him, but Bonapartist or not, if he gets in her way, she will do everything in her power to come out on top. Félicité is clearly in it for the long game.

Faujas has been enlisted, by a shadowy group of Bonapartists in Paris, to bring Plassans to heel. Le Petit Napoleon was not popular in the countryside after the violent 1851 coup d état although every effort was made to turn this opinion around. The Catholic Church and it's priests are shown here, to be as political, ambitious and lusting for power as the next man. Zola shines a light on religious hypocrisy and power plays and reveals the toxic mix of small town gossip and self-serving intrigues.

It's a heady mix of dastardly deeds, hysteria and madness.

The cover illustration, The Orange Trees, or The Artists Brother in His Garden, 1878 by Gustave Caillebotte is a very appropriate choice given the amount of time our characters spend in the back garden. 

The story begins with Mouret enjoying his garden of Eden-style space, pottering around in his vegetable and herb garden, picking fruit. It's a safe haven for his children to play in. On either side are two opposing political families - on the right are the rich Rastoil's with a pretentious English-style garden and on the left, the family of the sub-prefect, Péqueur des Saulaies with a carpet of rolling grass and a pond. The Rastoil's are Legitimists and the sub-prefect and his friends are 'bigwigs of the Empire.' Mouret is probably a Republican (like Zola), but prefers not to get caught up in the politicking.

Abbé Faujas, our very own snake in the grass, is very interested in what's happening in both gardens.

The Artist's Garden at Vétheuil | Claude Monet | 1881

As Faujas' influence grows, he uses the intermediary garden to bring together the two different groups. As he spends more time in the garden, Mouret spends less and less, isolating himself in his room instead. The addition of Faujas' sister and brother-in-law, Trouche, hasten the disintegration of Mouret's family life...and his mind. Slugs not only attack his lettuces but his peace of mind. And when Trouche takes over the garden, pulling up all the vegetables and fruit trees to create a vulgar flower show, we see this as sign of Mouret's fall from grace.

It is symbolic, and rather satisfying, that Mouret uses remnants of this showy garden as a catalyst for his last dramatic and fiery act. The garden of Eden becomes an apocalyptic fire of Hell. A Zola-esque form of purification has occurred on this troubled site.

Faujas was deliberately created by Zola to be misogynistic. Early on he says to Marthe, Mouret's wife and cousin, (she is a descendant of the legitimate Rougon line, while Mouret is part of the less than salubrious Macquart branch of the family) "you are like all women, even the noblest causes are ruined when they get hold of them."

Yet Marthe succumbs to religious fanaticism anyway, although it's often hard to tell if her fervour is for God or for Faujas. As she becomes more caught up in her religiosity, her family life suffers. The house falls into disrepair, domestic duties are ignored and eventually all her children leave or are farmed out to others.

The Mouret's decaying marriage is also another example of Zola's fixation on genetic dysfunction. This is not a genetically healthy family and when two cousins from the two different branches come together, it is sure to be disastrous. The youngest Mouret daughter is feeble-minded, but that's not enough for Zola. He throws a rat into this seemingly happy existence, to see what these characters will do.

And what they do, is unravel, rather magnificently into madness and illness. Imperfection or flaws are not enough for Zola. Natural determinism is what he is really exploring, and whether or not an individual can rise above their genetic makeup. Zola clearly believes they can't. Even though, he draws the Mouret family sympathetically (the Simpsons of the Second Empire!) they are doomed to suffer the same fate as the rest of the extended family.

The Conquest of Plassans could have been a dry novel about politics and religion, instead Zola created a gripping, fascinating insight into a period of time long gone. That time may be long gone, but our world is still suffering from the same kinds of intrigues and machinations. Except now it is faith-based initiatives being used to drive government policy across the globe, supposedly in the name of God, but really just about power and money.

Zola wrote about his time in history, but his books are now considered classics because they can still have the power to speak to us, 150 years later.

• La Fortune des Rougon (1871)
• La Curée (1871–2) The Kill
• Le Ventre de Paris (1873) The Belly of Paris
• La Conquête de Plassans (1874)
• Nana (1880)
• Germinal (1885)

High Rising | Angela Thirkell #ComfortRead

Given these weird and scary times we now live in, Angela Thirkell seems like the only sensible option! Her gentle social satire, quintessential British humour and lightness of touch in the face of adversity is not only comforting but inspiring.

High Rising is the first book in a 29 book series, the Barsetshire Chronicles, a homage to Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire books. Barsetshire is a fictional English county used by both authors for their cast of characters - mostly gentry and clergy - to run around in.

Thirkells’s light, amusing, romantic stories are given an added extra something when we take into account that most of the early books in particular, where written contemporaneously. The WWII books were written as they were living it, without knowing when or how it would end, how many lives would be lost or what sacrifices they might be called on to make as a society. Doubt and fear underlie every action in these books. Yet you cannot live every single moment of every single day like that. Daily life continues, even though it’s different to ‘before’. New things become normal, hardships are sudden and unexpected. But carry on, you must. And if you must carry on, then you might as well do it with as much good grace and humour as you can.

High Rising takes place in 1933. Events are unfolding in Europe that will have profound effects on this world one day. We know that, but Thirkell and her delightful, charming characters do not. They are still in the grateful to have survived The Great War phase. Their quiet, domestic arrangements have not been impacted by the wild, crazy 20’s or the Depression. They’re enjoying the new freedoms and new emerging technologies that make their daily lives easier. Getting electricity put in for the first time or even a telephone, having the bathroom plumbed or a new motor car. These are the great advances of society to be celebrated and enjoyed.

It’s hard not to feel nostalgic about this innocence today.

Laura Morland is a wonderful creation. Independent, caring and very practical. She embodies resilience and strength of character. A widow with four boys, all but one grown up and out in the world, she earns her way by writing frivolous romances.

She was quite contented, and never took herself seriously, though she took a lot of    trouble over her books. If she had been more introspective, she might have wondered at herself for doing so much in ten years, and being able to afford a small flat in London, and a reasonable little house in the country, and a middle-class car. The only thing that did occasionally make her admire herself a little was that she actually had a secretary. 

I hope to see a lot more of Laura in the future.

The Rotters' Club | Jonathan Coe #UKfiction

I'm reading Coe's trilogy about the life and times of Benjamin Trotter the wrong way round, chronologically speaking. But after reading and enjoying the third book in the series, Middle England, so much last month, I knew I had to find out how the whole thing started.

The Rotter's Club is a 2001 novel set in 1970's Birmingham and just like Middle England, it is a curious mix of nostalgia and satire.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know a teenage version of Ben, Philip and Doug, but I did find their teenage lives a bit tedious by the end of 300 pages. Do you remember those boys at school who did nothing but talk about THEIR (superior taste in) music/politics/sport and how naff you were if you didn't agree with them? This is a book about them. I suspect Coe was one of those boys, but has come far enough through life, to be able laugh about it now!

All this self-conscious school boy angst existed within the political and social context of IRA bombings, punk rock, immigration, union strikes and UK class consciousness.

Coe celebrates ordinary, comfortable, middle England family life for what it was - a whole generation on the move from their working class backgrounds into more middle class privileges.

The story finishes with a stream of consciousness chapter that is, apparently, the longest sentence in literary history. Along with a number of letters, diary entries and school newsletter articles, Coe plays with text types, mostly successfully, until this last chapter, which felt rather self-indulgent.

A number of reviewers for Middle England mentioned their great love for The Rotter's Club and that Middle England didn't quite live up to their expectations. I was the other way around. I suspect these rave reviews were all men, who were once one of those boys who did nothing but talk about their latest amazing new musical find that you really should listen to.

There are some odd moments and writerly devices in The Rotters' Club that didn't quite work for me. Using Sophie and Patrick to create a frame story at the start didn't really go anywhere, which is a shame, as I would have enjoyed getting to know more about the contemporary Sophie/Patrick story as a contrast to the 1970's story. I also found the IRA bombing cliff hanger annoying as each additional chapter went by that failed to explain, acknowledge or reveal anything about what happened...and there were several such chapters and digressions, before we finally returned to this significant event.

Coe always intended this book to have a sequel, which is no doubt why a number of set-ups and possible red herrings were not followed up or resolved. At least, I hope this proves to be the case.

I enjoyed Coe's political digs and commentary in both books, however, the immediacy of Middle England, and the adult lives of the characters, appealed to me far more than the 1970's and a bunch of teenage boys doing teenage boy stuff.

Despite the flaws, I have become quite attached to these books and these boys/men. There is a warmth and affection and a nostalgia that is infectious. I feel confident that The Closed Circle will be on my to-be-read pile very soon.

Facts:

• Book 2, The Closed Circle (2004), is set in the 1990's.
• The Rotters' Club was made into a BBC2 TV miniseries in 2005.

Middle England | Jonathan Coe #UKfiction

I do love the Costa Prize. It regularly throws up a new-to-me author or a book that I come to adore. The Costa folk have a happy knack of selecting engaging stories, quirky ideas and immensely readable books. There was a lot to love about the 2019 Fiction winner, Middle England.

Set in Brexit England, with a cast of characters that made previous appearances in Coe's two earlier books, The Rotters’ Club (2001) and The Closed Circle (2004). Although I hadn't read the first two books, I was able to jump straight into Middle England thanks to the in context flashbacks and remembrances of the main characters. These main characters were obviously much loved by Coe. They were written with such affection, that it was hard not to like them as well.

I would suggest that Coe's political view of the world basically coincides with my own, so even though I learnt a lot about the Brexit process and gained some insight into how it happened, my views were not challenged. The Remain characters were drawn sympathetically, but were also portrayed as being racist, sexist and/or homophobic. The genuine fear (of change, of the 'other', of difference) that many Remain voters feel, was never really brought forward and the many issues with the EU body politic were only briefly touched on. Perhaps the least sympathetic character, was young Coriander (she was always going to be difficult with a name like that!), the extreme left-wing militant who took offence at pretty much everything.

This all might sound a bit heavy and boring, but let me assure you, it was far, far from that. I had some genuine laugh out loud moments and was entertained from start to finish.

I particularly enjoyed the other serendipitous book moments that happened along the way.

Our English Lit character had a conference in Marseille, that turned into a mini-Count of Monte Cristo homage, culminating in a visit to the Château d'If where Edmund was wrongly imprisoned in his story. I was very envious.

Half way through, most of our characters sat down to watch the Opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics, which I had just read up on thanks to my recent read of The Tempest. I loved seeing it through the eyes of so many different people.

There was also a passing reference to McEwan's Saturday that coincided with me selecting it for my most recent Shelf Life post. I love it when my book worlds collide.

Middle England is infused with a very British nostalgia, a huge heart and a sense of increasing bewilderment. The politics of Brexit is made personal as this group of family and friends discuss, fall out and learn to live with each other's different view points and opinions.

I will definitely go back to read The Rotters' Club at some point; I'm curious to know how Benjamin and his family and friends started out. 

Quotes:

• Ian Sansom suggested these books were “the closest thing we have to a contemporary middle-class, middle-England Dance to the Music of Time”.
• John Boyne said: “Millions of words have been and will be written on Brexit but few will get to the heart of why it is happening as incisively as Middle England.”

Facts:

• Costa Book Awards Fiction Winner 2019
• 2019 nominee for The Prix Femina étranger

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey is exactly the type of cosy crime I enjoy reading on a cold, rainy wintery weekend.

Much like the UK series about Maisie Dobbs and the Australian series by Kerry Greenwood about Phryne Fisher, Massey has created the Indian version of these smart, pioneering 1920's women who have the ability to be in the right place at the right time to solve crimes.

Sujata was born in England to parents from India and Germany. She now lives in the US, which may explain why I often felt that the Indian nature of the story was technically correct and well researched, but didn't always feel authentic. I spent most of the book feeling like a tourist, on the outside looking in. I will be curious to hear how one of my fellow book clubbers felt about this though, as she actually grew up living on Malabar Hill in the 1960's.

At times, I had a few quibbles with the 'show don't tell' aspect of Massey's writing and I didn't always feel like I was in 1920's India. Sometimes the dialogue felt awkward and stilted as well. It may have been an accurate reflection of the self-conscious, uneasy tensions that exist when two different classes try to communicate but I'm not sure that's where the problem lay.

However, I cannot deny, that as an easy to read, cosy crime story, The Widows of Malabar Hill was a winner. It has a likeable protagonist in Perveen Mistry and an exotic setting. Being based on versions of a true story gives the book another tick in its favour.

Mistry's backstory was interesting, but at times felt contrived. Perhaps it was all the 'telling' going on rather than showing, revealing and letting the reader get there themselves. Certainly the reader doesn't have to do anything other than just read, Massey does all the work. Despite all the descriptions, I have no residual visual image of the characters or the place. The historical element also felt rather loose. I had to keep reminding myself it was meant to be the 1920's.

I obviously had some technical issues with the writing, but ultimately I enjoyed the story and will probably read the sequel The Satapur Moonstone at some point. You may be surprised to hear that, after all the issues I had with this book, but sometimes a book is just for reading. And sometimes a book leaves you with enough of a warm glow, to make a dreary wintery weekend a little brighter.

Favourite or Forget: I suspect this will fade from my memory fairly quickly.

Food:

My edition comes with a few recipes (of meals eaten throughout the book) at the back. I'm keen to try the Malabar Spinach and Eggs one day.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 as breakfast or 4 as part of a dinner
Difficulty: Easy

Here’s a moderately spicy recipe that is a Parsi classic. Malabar spinach, also known as water spinach or poisaag, can be found at Asian grocers and farmer’s markets. Large leaf spinach or swiss chard is a good substitute. You’ll need a wide frying pan with a lid to prepare this dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola, safflower or sunflower oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 curry leaves (optional)
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 5 diced Roma tomatoes, or one large tomato
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 bunch of Malabar spinach, or substitute greens
• salt to taste
• 4 eggs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and optional curry leaves and sauté until onion is translucent.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder. After the tomatoes are broken down, about two minutes, add the spinach and a few tablespoons of water. Cover with lid and cook for 5 to 7 minutes over low heat, until the spinach is soft. Add salt to taste.
3. Use a large spoon to make 4 depressions in the soft cooked greens. Break an egg over each of these depressions.
4. Cover the pan again. If the lid has a curve on its underside, invert the lid and pour a couple of teaspoons of water into the curve. This addition of water heightens the steaming effect as the eggs poach under the lid. Remember to keep the temperature very low.
5. Peek at the eggs after 3 minutes, and if they are almost set, serve.

Two nights later:

I made an Aussie version of Malabar Spinach and Eggs using bok choy and broccolini. It was perfect for one of our 800 Fast day meals. It was also delicious and the spice mix was great for warming us up on a cold winter's evening.

Facts:

• Cornelia Sorabji was the real life inspiration for Perveen Mistry
• Winner of the Agatha Award
• Winner Mary Higgins Clark Award
• Winner Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery
• Nominated for the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

17/20 Books of Summer Winter

Sydney 21℃

Dublin 20℃
Weekend Cooking with Beth Fish Reads

Maigret and the Ghost #62 by Georges Simenon

Reading a Maigret or two during Paris in July has now become one of those things that I look forward to with a great deal of anticipation each year. Because of this though, I now associate Maigret with dreary, winter nights and rainy days (although not so much of the rain this year). My last two Maigret's, which were both set in Paris in high summer, had me all turned upside down and seasonally confused.

Fortunately Maigret and the Ghost takes us back to winter in Paris, and it feels like the seasons (if not the months) are back in sync for now.

This was mid-November and it had rained all day. Maigret hadn't left the stiflingly hot atmosphere of his office since eight o'clock the previous morning. Before crossing the courtyard, he turned up the collar of his overcoat.

I classify these crime stories as cosy, simply because even though people die we don't then have detailed forensic information or grisly crime scenes raked over by specialists using all sorts of forensic jargon. This type of gory story seems to dominate many of the modern crime stories, which is why I don't read (or watch) them. It's not my thing.

The Maigret's are pure detective story. The books are about the man, more than the crime. He is our hero that we come to admire, if not love, with each book. We get to know his techniques and his moods. The pleasure in reading comes from watching Maigret untangle the clues. His psychological methods and intuition become familiar and reliable.

In this case, we see Maigret, weary after coming off an all-nighter solving another unrelated crime, suddenly being informed of a shooting incident involving an inspector from a neighbouring precinct. Maigret quickly realises that his colleague was onto something big and that time is of the essence to stop another major criminal act from taking place. Art smuggling, forgeries, kidnapping and blackmail are the crimes with missing witnesses, nosy neighbours and deceptive suspects the spanners in the works.

It may be a little weird to say a crime novel was a lot of fun, but when Simenon gets it right, watching Maigret piece it all together is such a joy. This is one of the Maigret's where Simenon gets out of the way and lets Maigret do all the work instead.

Highly recommended.

Series:

• 1. The Strange Case of Peter the Lett, The Case of Peter the Lett, Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett (1931)
• 2. The Crime at Lock 14, Maigret Meets a Milord, Lock 14 (1931)
• 3. The Death of Monsieur Gallet, Maigret Stonewalled (1931)
• 4. The Crime of Inspector Maigret, Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets (1931)
• 5. A Battle of Nerves, Maigret's War of Nerves, A Man's Head (1931)
• 6. A Face for a Clue, Maigret and the Concarneau Murders, Maigret and the Yellow Dog, The Yellow Dog (1931)
• 7. The Crossroad Murders, Maigret at the Crossroads (1931)
• 8. A Crime in Holland, Maigret in Holland (1931)
• 9. The Sailor's Rendezvous (1931)
• 10. At the "Gai Moulin", Maigret at the "Gai Moulin" (1931)
• 11. Guinguette by the Seine, Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine, The Bar on the Seine (1931)
• 12. The Shadow in the Courtyard, Maigret Mystified (1932)
• 13. Maigret and the Countess, The Saint-Fiacre Affair, Maigret Goes Home, Maigret on Home Ground (1932)
• 14. The Flemish Shop, Maigret and the Flemish Shop (1932)
• 15. Death of a Harbo(u)r Master, Maigret and the Death of a Harbor Master (1932)
• 16. The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
• 17. Liberty Bar, Maigret on the Riviera (1932)
• 18. The Lock at Charenton (1933)
• 19. Maigret Returns (1934)
• 20. Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (1942)
• 21. Maigret in Exile (1942)
• 22. Maigret and the Spinster (1942)
• 23. To Any Lengths, Signe Picpus, Maigret and the Fortuneteller (1944)
• 24. Maigret and the Toy Village (1944)
• 25. Maigret's Rival, Inspector Cadaver (1944)
• 26. Maigret in Retirement (1947)
• 27. Maigret in New York, Inspector Maigret in New York's Underworld, Maigret in New York's Underworld (1947)
• 28. A Summer Holiday, No Vacation for Maigret, Maigret on Holiday (1948)
• 29. Maigret's Dead Man, Maigret's Special Murder (1948)
• 30. Maigret's First Case (1949)
• 31. My Friend Maigret, The Methods of Maigret (1949)
• 32. Maigret at the Coroner's (1949)
• 33. Maigret and the Old Lady (1950)
• 34. Madame Maigret's Own Case, Madame Maigret's Friend, The Friend of Madame Maigret (1950)
• 35. Maigret's Memoirs (1951)
• 36. Maigret and the Strangled Stripper, Maigret in Montmartre, Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (1951)
• 37. Maigret Takes a Room, Maigret Rents a Room (1951)
• 38. Inspector Maigret and the Burglar's Wife, Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (1951)
• 39. Inspector Maigret and the Killers, Maigret and the Gangsters (1952)
• 40. Maigret's Revolver (1952)
• 41. Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard, Maigret and the Man on the Bench (1953)
• 42. Maigret Afraid (1953)
• 43. Maigret's Mistake (1953)
• 44. Maigret Goes to School (1954)
• 45. Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl, Maigret and the Young Girl (1954)
• 46. Maigret and the Minister, Maigret and the Calame Report (1955)
• 47. Maigret and the Headless Corpse (1955)
• 48. Maigret Sets a Trap (1955)
• 49. Maigret's Failure (1956)
• 50. Maigret's Little Joke, None of Maigret's Business (1957)
• 51. Maigret and the Millionaires (1958)
• 52. Maigret Has Scruples (1958)
• 53. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (1959)
• 54. Maigret Has Doubts (1959)
• 55. Maigret in Court (1960)
• 56. Maigret in Society (1960)
• 57. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (1961)
• 58. Maigret and the Black Sheep (1962)
• 59. Maigret and the Saturday Caller (1962)
• 60. Maigret and the Dosser, Maigret and the Bum (1963)
• 61. Maigret Loses His Temper, Maigret's Anger (1963)
• 62. Maigret and the Ghost, Maigret and the Apparition (1964)
• 63. Maigret on the Defensive (1964)
• 64. The Patience of Maigret, Maigret Bides His Time (1965)
• 65. Maigret and the Nahour Case (1967)
• 66. Maigret's Pickpocket (1967)
• 67. Maigret Takes the Waters, Maigret in Vichy (1968)
• 68. Maigret Hesitates (1968)
• 69. Maigret's Boyhood Friend (1968)
• 70. Maigret and the Killer (1969)
• 71. Maigret and the Wine Merchant (1970)
• 72. Maigret and the Madwoman (1970)
• 73. Maigret and the Loner (1971)
• 74. Maigret and the Flea, Maigret and the Informer (1971)
• 75. Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1972)
• A Maigret Christmas

Book 14 of 20 Books of Summer Winter
Sydney 19℃
Dublin 23℃

Maigret's Anger #61 by Georges Simenon

Maigret's Anger is my fifth Maigret. It was probably the lightest, easiest one of the lot so far, but it was also very atmospheric. Paris in summer hummed and sweated along in the background as Maigret worked a case around his old beat, in Montmartre.

It was almost as hot that evening as it had been during the day. Maigret went for a walk with his wife and sat outside a cafe in Place de la Republique, nursing a glass of beer for almost an hour.

They talked mainly about their holidays. Many of the men passing by had their jackets over their arms; most of the women were wearing cotton print dresses.

The case was fairly simple to solve, but it got extremely personal when Maigret realised that his good name had been taken in vain by a blackmailing lawyer playing a very lucrative game with his clients. Maigret's anger is of the steely, self-contained kind. He brooks no arguments or discussion. The guilty flounder (and confess) before his quiet fury.

Fortunately Maigret has his favourite Sunday treat to look forward to - a visit to Morsang-sur-Seine with Madame Maigret and his favourite hotel: Vieux-Garcon.

Reading up on it, he had discovered that Balzac and Alexandre Dumas had once been regular visitors, and that later the Goncourt Brothers, Flaubert, Zola, Alphonse Daudet and others had attended literary lunches there.

They ended up spending a peaceful Sunday by the river...around ten o'clock, as they were finishing their breakfast under the trees, watching the sails manoeuvring on the water, Madame Maigret murmured: 'Aren't you going fishing?'

As a starting point for my #ParisinJuly 2019 campaign, it was ideal. To the point and a reminder of warmer, gentler times.

Favourite Quote: because it sums up Maigret perfectly.

He had the heavy, stubborn look he wore in the doldrums of an investigation, when he didn't know how to proceed and was half-heartedly trying every angle.

Facts:

• Translated by William Hobson (who I've just discovered also translated Max Gallo's Napoleon series into English.)

New Word:

• belote - a popular 32 card, trick-taking, card game invented in France around 1920.

Series:

• 1. The Strange Case of Peter the Lett, The Case of Peter the Lett, Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett (1931)
• 2. The Crime at Lock 14, Maigret Meets a Milord, Lock 14 (1931)
• 3. The Death of Monsieur Gallet, Maigret Stonewalled (1931)
• 4. The Crime of Inspector Maigret, Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets (1931)
• 5. A Battle of Nerves, Maigret's War of Nerves, A Man's Head (1931)
• 6. A Face for a Clue, Maigret and the Concarneau Murders, Maigret and the Yellow Dog, The Yellow Dog (1931)
• 7. The Crossroad Murders, Maigret at the Crossroads (1931)
• 8. A Crime in Holland, Maigret in Holland (1931)
• 9. The Sailor's Rendezvous (1931)
• 10. At the "Gai Moulin", Maigret at the "Gai Moulin" (1931)
• 11. Guinguette by the Seine, Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine, The Bar on the Seine (1931)
• 12. The Shadow in the Courtyard, Maigret Mystified (1932)
• 13. Maigret and the Countess, The Saint-Fiacre Affair, Maigret Goes Home, Maigret on Home Ground (1932)
• 14. The Flemish Shop, Maigret and the Flemish Shop (1932)
• 15. Death of a Harbo(u)r Master, Maigret and the Death of a Harbor Master (1932)
• 16. The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
• 17. Liberty Bar, Maigret on the Riviera (1932)
• 18. The Lock at Charenton (1933)
• 19. Maigret Returns (1934)
• 20. Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (1942)
• 21. Maigret in Exile (1942)
• 22. Maigret and the Spinster (1942)
• 23. To Any Lengths, Signe Picpus, Maigret and the Fortuneteller (1944)
• 24. Maigret and the Toy Village (1944)
• 25. Maigret's Rival, Inspector Cadaver (1944)
• 26. Maigret in Retirement (1947)
• 27. Maigret in New York, Inspector Maigret in New York's Underworld, Maigret in New York's Underworld (1947)
• 28. A Summer Holiday, No Vacation for Maigret, Maigret on Holiday (1948)
• 29. Maigret's Dead Man, Maigret's Special Murder (1948)
• 30. Maigret's First Case (1949)
• 31. My Friend Maigret, The Methods of Maigret (1949)
• 32. Maigret at the Coroner's (1949)
• 33. Maigret and the Old Lady (1950)
• 34. Madame Maigret's Own Case, Madame Maigret's Friend, The Friend of Madame Maigret (1950)
• 35. Maigret's Memoirs (1951)
• 36. Maigret and the Strangled Stripper, Maigret in Montmartre, Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (1951)
• 37. Maigret Takes a Room, Maigret Rents a Room (1951)
• 38. Inspector Maigret and the Burglar's Wife, Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (1951)
• 39. Inspector Maigret and the Killers, Maigret and the Gangsters (1952)
• 40. Maigret's Revolver (1952)
• 41. Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard, Maigret and the Man on the Bench (1953)
• 42. Maigret Afraid (1953)
• 43. Maigret's Mistake (1953)
• 44. Maigret Goes to School (1954)
• 45. Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl, Maigret and the Young Girl (1954)
• 46. Maigret and the Minister, Maigret and the Calame Report (1955)
• 47. Maigret and the Headless Corpse (1955)
• 48. Maigret Sets a Trap (1955)
• 49. Maigret's Failure (1956)
• 50. Maigret's Little Joke, None of Maigret's Business (1957)
• 51. Maigret and the Millionaires (1958)
• 52. Maigret Has Scruples (1958)
• 53. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (1959)
• 54. Maigret Has Doubts (1959)
• 55. Maigret in Court (1960)
• 56. Maigret in Society (1960)
• 57. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (1961)
• 58. Maigret and the Black Sheep (1962)
• 59. Maigret and the Saturday Caller (1962)
• 60. Maigret and the Dosser, Maigret and the Bum (1963)
• 61. Maigret Loses His Temper, Maigret's Anger (1963)
• 62. Maigret and the Ghost, Maigret and the Apparition (1964)
• 63. Maigret on the Defensive (1964)
• 64. The Patience of Maigret, Maigret Bides His Time (1965)
• 65. Maigret and the Nahour Case (1967)
• 66. Maigret's Pickpocket (1967)
• 67. Maigret Takes the Waters, Maigret in Vichy (1968)
• 68. Maigret Hesitates (1968)
• 69. Maigret's Boyhood Friend (1968)
• 70. Maigret and the Killer (1969)
• 71. Maigret and the Wine Merchant (1970)
• 72. Maigret and the Madwoman (1970)
• 73. Maigret and the Loner (1971)
• 74. Maigret and the Flea, Maigret and the Informer (1971)
• 75. Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1972)
• A Maigret Christmas

Book 11 of 20 Books of Summer Winter

Sydney 19℃

Dublin 20℃

The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola

Le Ventre de Paris (also known as The Belly of Paris - a direct translation, or The Fat and the Thin
referring to one of the main ideas explored in the story) is not only an extremely visual story, but a visceral one too.

Zola's descriptions of the food markets at Les Halles are colourful, very detailed and lengthy! He leaves no basket or barrow unturned. Every smell is documented including the decaying, the over-ripe and the composted.

The political and social injustices of the times are also symbolised in the Les Halles markets and reinforced by the various natures of the people who live and work there.

Many of Zola's standard themes are explored here - moral ambiguity, excess, waste, realism, gluttony, materialism, decadence, the haves and the have-nots. Consumerism, in particular, is placed under the Zola microscope in The Belly of Paris, as is the whole idea of spying, voyeurism, surveillance and gossip. Everyone watches everyone else and everyone discusses it with anyone who will listen.

One of the curiosities, for me, in this story and the previous Zola, La Curée is the whole push & pull against the renovation of Paris by Haussmann. On the one hand there is a real sense of loss and nostalgia for 'Old Paris', yet there's also an appreciation of the improved sanitation and open spaces that the clean up achieved. Zola writes about the tension between the corruption and the dynamism inherent in this process in all of his books.

It makes me think of the current concerns many Sydney-siders feel for the major road work and light rail projects happening around the city right now. I hear lots of people bemoaning the changing face of Sydney and the loss of old Sydney and that things will never be the same again. That it will make things worse not better. As a devotee of museums and history, I know that these exact same sentiments were expressed in the 1920's when large areas of The Rocks and North Sydney were pulled down to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

No-one in Sydney, or visiting Sydney, could now imagine it without our beautiful, graceful bridge spanning the harbour. It is instagrammed and hashtagged on an hourly basis all around the world. Just like we now love and appreciate the beautiful, graceful boulevards and open spaces created by Haussmann in Paris. Neither city misses the slums or narrow, crowded streets that were razed to create these beautiful new spaces.

At the time, the fear of change and sentimentality stopped many of the locals from seeing the possible beauty or improved functionality that would result from the change. They could not imagine that future generations would be grateful for the sacrifice and upheaval required to update, move forward and 'future-proof' their city.

I'm not suggesting that our current west connex, north connex & light rail projects will ever be considered beautiful, charming and elegant by future generations, that might be stretching the friendship too far, but they will add (in part) a functionality to our city that is currently lacking. Sadly our particular project is not being managed by a larger-than-life character like Haussmann. His bold vision is sadly lacking in Sydney. But then a large factor in his work was to make it easier for governments to police the city and stop the barricades - a practical, controversial consideration that upset many at the time. Yet the Champs Elysee was born. And who could now imagine Paris without the Champs Elysee?

Une Boutique de Charcuterie (1873) by Edouard Jean Dambourgez

To get back to Zola's main theme in The Belly of Paris, though, let's start with Claude Lantier (the artist based on Paul Cezanne) during his 'Battle of the Fat and the Thin' discussion,

In these pictures Claude saw the entire drama of human life; and he ended by dividing everyone into Fat and Thin, two hostile groups, one of which devours the other and grows fat and sleek and endlessly enjoys itself.

'Cain', he said, 'was a Fat man and Abel a Thin one. Ever since that first murder, the big eaters have sucked the lifeblood out of the small eaters. The strong constantly prey on the weak....Beware of the Fat, my friend!'

Gavard is Fat, but the sort that pretends to be Thin....Mademoiselle Saget and Madame Lecœur are Thin, but the kind to beware of - Thin people desperate to be Fat. My friend Marjolin, little Cadine, La Sarriette, they're all Fat. They don't know it yet, because they're so young and innocent. It must be said that the Fat , before they get older, are charming creatures.

Zola not only sees the modern trend in a division between the haves and have nots, the takers and the givers, but relates it back to the very beginning of human story. Since the beginning of time, we have been creating stories to bring to light our differences; what does it say about us, I wonder, that we are still telling the same stories thousands of years later?

Are we slow learners? Do we never learn from the lessons of history? Does every generation have to re-invent the wheel? Or are we just eternally interested in ourselves and our stories?

References to Les Halles are everywhere throughout the story and read like paintings. Fortunately many, many artists have painted these scenes, including the one chosen for the cover of the Oxford University Press edition by Victor-Gabriel Gilbert, The Square in Front of Les Halles 1880.

Brian Nelson in his Introduction explains that Zola 'combines the vision of a painter with the approach of a sociologist and reporter.' Below are a few of my favourite examples.

Les Halles 1895 by Léon Lhermitte

The opening to the Rue Rambteau was blocked by a barricade of orange pumpkins in two rows, sprawling at their ease and swelling out their bellies. Here and there gleamed the varnished golden-brown of a basket of onions, the blood-red of a heap of tomatoes, the soft yellow of a display of cucumbers, and the deep mauve of aubergines.

Les Halles

That church is a piece of bastard architecture, made up of the death agony of the Middle Ages and the birth pains of the Renaissance....There it is with its rose windows, and without a congregation, while Les Halles keep growing next to it.

Les Halles 1879 by Jean Beraud

A huge arcade, a gaping doorway, would open to his gaze; and the markets seemed to crowd up one on top of the other, with their two lines of roof, their countless shutters and blinds...a vast Babylonian structure of metal wonderfully delicate in its workmanship, and criss-crossed by hanging gardens, aerial galleries, and flying buttresses.

Les Halles and St Eustache by Eugene Galien-Laloue

The giant markets, overflowing with food, had brought things to a head. They seemed like some satiated beast, embodying Paris itself, grown enormously fat, and silently supporting the Empire.

Still Life with Cheese 1870's by Antoine Vollon.

The warm afternoon sun had softened the cheeses; the mould on the rinds was melting and glazing over with the rich colours of red copper verdigris, like wounds that have badly healed; under the oak leaves, a breeze lifted the skins of the olivets, which seemed to move up and down with the slow deep breathing of a man asleep.

Favourite Character: Maybe not my favourite character, but certainly, for me, the most memorable was La Belle Lisa 'she was a steady, sensible Macquart, reasonable and logical in her craving for well-being.' Quietly ambitious, determined, hard-working, voluptuous. Lisa embodies the bourgeoisie sensibility of looking out for oneself and turning a blind eye to the larger problems within society as being none of her business and beyond her control to do anything about anyway.

Favourite or Forget: As I slowly read Zola's books in chronological order for Fanda's #Zoladdiction each year, they all become forever burnt onto my memory. The abundance of food descriptions and Zola's play with homographs (trifle, ripening, fruit, sweetly etc) made this one a fun read. I think this particular OWC cover is my favourite of all the Zola covers.

Facts: Le Ventre de Paris was serialised in the daily newspaper L'État from 12 January to 17 March 1873. It's the third book in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series.