THE LIGHT OF PARIS

BOOK CLUB KIT

E L E A N O R - B R OW N .C O M E L E A N O R B ROW N W R I T E R ELEANORWRITES
 DISCUS SION QUE STIONS FOR

THE L I G HT PARI S OF

1 THE CITY OF PARIS BECOMES A CHARACTER IN ITS OWN RIGHT throughout the novel. What is the
significance of Paris to the story? What does it mean to Margie when she lives there and to Madeleine as she
reads about it?

2 WHAT FAMILY PATTERNS are carried through the three generations of womenMargie, Simone, and
Madeleine? How are they similar and how are they different?

3 MADELEINE HAS A DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP with her mother, Simone. Did you feel sympathy for
Simone at any point? Have you experienced a mother-daughter dynamic like this in your own life?

4 HOW ARE MARGIES AND MADELEINES relationships with their mothers similar? How are they
different? There is a pattern of parents placing expectations on their children. Do you think it can be broken?

5 MADELEINE AND MARGIE WANT INDEPENDENT LIVES, but both have been very sheltered.
In what ways are they prepared or unprepared for the realities that face them?

6 THE STORIES TAKES PLACE at two different times: 1924 and 1999. What do those years have in common,
and how do they affect the overall story?

7 MADELEINE ESCAPES TO HER HOMETOWN of Magnolia in the same way that Margie escapes to Paris.
Do these two places have anything in common? How are they different? Do they affect Madeleine and
Margie in similar or different ways?

8 MARGIE WANTS TO WRITE, Madeleine to paint. How does their art affect their lives and what happens
in the story?

9 DID MARGIE MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE? What were the consequences of her decision?

10 AT THE END OF THE NOVEL, Madeleine gets a studio to paint ina room of her own. What is the signifi-
cance of this space for her? How does it affect her character?

11 HOW HAVE CIRCUMSTANCES for women changed between the different time periods of Margies and
Madeleines stories? In what way are they the same?
 1 ZELLIS ROYAL BOX Dad, when I come
home Ill have a lot more sympathy with your
enthusiasm for dancing. I danced from 2 - 4:30
straight the other morning at Zellis and never
had a better time in my life!

2 PALAIS GARNIER (PARIS OPERA

HOUSE) Please send an evening coat or your
old black duvetyne wrap which would be emi-
nently more practical if you can spare it. A tired
coat does not feel right in the Paris Opera and
there are probabilities of a few dates.

3 CIROS RESTAURANT AND CLUB

DAUNOU Last night I had two bidsone a
swank affairdinner at Ciros and dancing after-
wards at the Club Daunou ... when youre trying
to be an i.e.u. in Paris, its frightfully annoying to
have to miss free meals!

4 HARRYS NEW YORK BAR What would

ruin your reputation at home means nothing at
all to anybody here. Everybody stays up all night
and everybody goes to the Ritz and the New
York Bar, and Zellis and Pigales are absolutely
O.K. if you have your own crowd.

5 RITZ PARIS The second shock we had

in Paris was being invited to tea at the Ritz. It
wasnt half as impressive as I had thought it
would be, but there were some lovely frocks and
it was quite a change from the Latin quarter!

6 PRUNIER RESTAURANT Lunched at

Pruniers yesterday off caviar and lobster. You
I LLUST RAT IO N BY DA N A M EN D EL SO N

could have heard me purr for miles. I take to

luxury so very easily.

7 AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS We

work 37 hours a week which you work in accord-
ing to your own desires as long as you dont in-
terfere with the desk schedule. . . . I leave the
club at 8:20 a.m. and dont get back until after six
so you can see that Im a hardworking woman!

8 NAPOLEONS TOMB But then the Em-

perors tomb shouldnt have been so impressive
because in reality he was only a little shrimp who
messed up things from a selfish point of view.

9 LE DME CAF In the afternoon I went

out to Jeans studio for tea and afterwards we
sat at the Dme for a while (about the most
famous caf in the Quartierused as a rendez-
TA K E A TO U R T HRO U G H T H E vous by all the artist crowd).
N OTA B L E L A N D M A R KS F E AT U RED I N
10 CHEZ ROSALIE By the way, there is a little
bohemian restaurant over here in the Quartier

L IGH T OF PA R IS
Latin called Chez Rosalie. It `is dim, dirty, full of
atmosphere, and very smallonly room for about
THE fifteen to sit down at a time. Different more-or-
less-famous artists have painted pictures on the
wall (most informal) and what is still more inter-
Each caption comes from Eleanor Browns grandmothers esting is that Rosalie, herself, was a great flame
letters, which were a source of inspiration for the book. of Whistlers and was the model for the portrait
of his mother!
 A TASTE OF
JAZZ AGE PARIS

CH A M PAGNE
CO CKTA IL
INGREDIENTS

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 Sugar cube
1/3 ounce Cognac
3 ounces Champagne

DIRECTIONS

Drop a dash of Angostura bitters onto the

sugar cube and drop it into a champagne
flute. Add Cognac, then gently pour in
chilled Champagne. Garnish with the
orange slice and maraschino cherry.

Serve straight up, without ice.