Peeking Under the Covers

Amiens One place Ardel takes her reader in Chapter 9 is to the city of Amiens. Here, we meet André's mother and learn that phosphates might be in M. Douvry's future through the connections André has made. Considering this novel was published in 1914, right around the breakout of World War I, Amiens is worth mentioning because of the role it played during that war. Situated in northern France in the Hauts-de-France region, Amiens is well-known for its 13th-century Gothic cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame Amiens, which is the largest in France. Although the city was fought over in both World Wars, it was the 1918 Battle of Amiens that stands out with Ardel's story. In just a few short years, where André stands on the steps of the cathedral with his mother, will the Hundred Days Offensive and the push towards the Armistice with Germany begin. Of course, following both World Wars, the city of Amiens faced massive reconstruction and recovery. Personally, I find imagining what was...

As Chapter 7 opens and we once again find ourselves in the Douvry's sitting room, two interesting tidbits of the time period are brought up: Worth's and the five o'clock leisure hour. (Actually, I added "leisure hour" to the text because it doesn't make much sense without that bit of information.) Charles Frederich Worth House of Worth The House of Worth was established in 1858 by Charles Frederich Worth. If you've ever wondered who is considered the father of haute couture , well, this is your man. A few other things he's credited for creating or doing first: Revolutionized the business of fashion (made it more suited to everyday life), First to replace fashion dolls with live models, First to sew branded labels into his clothing (kind of crazy, since it's still done today), Credited with inventing the hoop skirt and the bustle, Became a dictator of French fashion long before any other designer.                In 1846, the British-born Worth move...

Nowadays, whenever Cannes, France is mentioned, almost immediately red carpets, hordes of media, and glowing actors in a gorgeous, glitzy setting on the coast comes to one's mind. That's all very well and true, but Cannes has a history that goes deeper than the film industry itself. Let's take a step back to the Cannes of the early 20th century... What was once a quiet fishing village along the Côte d'Azur, Cannes exploded in popularity among Europe's elite and wealthy individuals with the finished construction of Boulevard de la Croisette in the 1860s. This was a wide boulevard carved out along the seaside where one could see and be seen by those taking their winter vacations in Cannes. Soon extravagant hotels, villas, and casinos built up along the Boulevard de la Croisette. This elegant location eventually received the touch of nobility when Lord Henry Brougham, a former Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, visited Cannes and decided to build a villa. This endorsem...

 In Chapter 3 - Part 3, M. Douvry mentions something to his wife: “Do you still remember, Jeanne,” he resumed abruptly, “of that day in  the Caucasus  when I was nearly killed?”  Perhaps you're familiar with the Caucasus Mountains, but if not, then I'll give you a little info on the region and maybe figure out what M. Douvry, as an engineer, might have been doing in the region during the late 1800s and early 1900s. If you haven't watched the embedded video from the last posting, then feel free to view it here to give you a sense of the immensity of the Caucasus Mountains.  Mount Elbrus, (3,500m) As indicated in the video, the Caucasus Mountains basically form the intersection of Asia and Europe, and include six countries:  Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iran, as they run from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The range is divided in two, with the Greater Caucasus in the north and the Lesser Caucasus in the south. Mount Elbrus is often c i...

Near the end of Part 3 of Chapter 2, Suzy's makes the following remark: “Maman, what is that? The face immediately makes me think of  Dürer's Melancholia  which I love so much. Who painted this?” Here, we see that Suzy brings up a very specific piece of artwork, one that happens to be an engraving. Feel free to follow the link to see where I pulled this image from, but I'll give a little background on this specific engraving and a little info on old master prints in general. Albrecht Dürer's Melancholia I , 1514 This specific engraving is titled  Melancholia I  and was created by  Albrecht Dürer in 1514. It is considered a piece from the German Renaissance (15th and 16th centuries) and is one of the most well-known of the "old master prints." Master prints are considered works of art produced by a printing process in the Western tradition. These types of prints grew rapidly from the 15th century and were created over a period of 600 years, ending in the 18th a...

As I explained in my first post, "Exploring the Public Domain," I'm adding in slight detours as I go along with my weekly posted translations. This week, two artists and their work were mentioned early on in Chapter 1: Kate Greenaway and Gustave Courtois's Hercules at the Feet of Omphale . In the scene where Suzy goes to retrieve her hat from the lime tree, she is described as appearing " simply delightful with her thin brown head buried in an immense hat worthy of a Kate Greenaway vignette" (Nissen). I looked at several different pieces of work from Kate Greenaway and decided that this solitary young woman from Greenaway's book Marigold Garden  (1885) to be a simple depiction of what Suzy may have looked like, but perhaps a year or two older since she is eighteen in Suzy's Dream . Perhaps you sense a familiarity with Greenaway's work, since she is best known for her children's book illustrations. I recognize imitations of her paintings from...