Tag: Paris Commune

Embers of a Lesser-Known French Revolution

M.K. Tod2 Comments

The New York Times posted an interesting article about the Paris Commune last Thursday. Those of you who know that my novel Paris In Ruins is set in that time period – how could you miss that bit of information? – will know that 1871 was a tumultuous time pitting citizen against citizen on the streets of Paris. Apparently, there are Parisians who think that particular revolution should never have been quashed.

A couple of quotes to entice you to read the article.

..as France has been rocked by a series of social movements in recent years, the story of the Paris Commune has made a comeback, with protesters making connections between today’s struggles and those of a century and a half ago.

New York Times April 29, 2021
Announcing a funeral for communards killed by the French army

It is a historical event that backs up new grass-roots demands in terms of reclaiming social, political and economic power.

New York Times April 29, 2021

The Commune was long invoked as a model of class warfare … until the memory began to fade in the 1980s, along with communist ideology.

New York Times April 29, 2021
Rue de Rivoli

Catherine Kremar, a 70-year-old seasoned leftist activist, smiled as she watched the protest around her. “Revolutionary Paris is not dead,” she said.

New York Times April 29, 2021

It seems the desire for a more equal society does not fade away. At least in France.

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, PARIS IN RUINS, is available for pre-order on Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Kobo, and Barnes&Noble. An earlier novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

The power of paintings & sketches

M.K. Tod4 Comments

While writing Paris In Ruins, I came across numerous paintings and sketches that helped me appreciate the times, the city, and the people. I found a number of them while on a research trip to Paris. Others I found in books and through online sources. Each one added to the descriptions I used or to my imagination of the scenes where my characters enacted the story.

I’ll let the paintings and sketches speak for themselves – after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The view from place de la Concorde toward l’Arc de Triomphe
Paris Fortifications – looking out at the countryside
Claude Monet – workers on the Seine unloading coal
Degas – Women ironing
Attack by the French Garde Mobile on a chateau outside Paris
Fighting around Place Pigalle
1870s civil marriage ceremony
Pantheon 1870
Securing the cannons in Montmartre – an act the sparked the Paris Commune
I found so many sketches of gowns
Salon gathering – inspiration for Madame Lambert’s salon
Women on the barricades during the Paris Commune
The bridge at Sevres – inspired a scene with Mariele and her mother
Barricades during the Paris Commune
Conciergerie prison – where one of my characters is imprisoned

These and many more inspired my writing and helped me keep my thoughts in 1870/71 Paris.

Paris In Ruins: 1870 Paris – Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city they love. War has a way of teaching lessons – if only they can survive to learn them.

Paris In Ruins is available in many countries on Kindle, on Amazon (paperback), on Kobo, and on Barnes & Noble. 

DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, PARIS IN RUINS, is available for pre-order on Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Kobo, and Barnes&Noble. An earlier novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

Paris In Ruins – available for preorder

M.K. Tod13 Comments

Dear friends … my latest novel, Paris In Ruins is ready for pre-order! As you can imagine, I’m thrilled to be able to tell you about it and as nervous as … well, let’s just say too nervous for me to find an appropriate comparison. Bringing a fourth novel to market is just as challenging as the first one.

Paris In Ruins has been a true labour of love — love for a city of incomparable beauty and tumultuous history, and love for the process of storytelling.

Paris in Ruins by M.K. Tod ~~ Paris 1870. Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city and people they love.

The story of two women whose families were caught up in the defense of Paris is deeply moving and suspenseful ~~ Margaret George, author of Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero

Tod is not only a good historian, but also an accomplished writer … a gripping, well-limned picture of a time and a place that provide universal lessons ~~ Kirkus Reviews.

A few weeks after the abdication of Napoleon III, the Prussian army lays siege to Paris. Camille Noisette, the daughter of a wealthy family, volunteers to nurse wounded soldiers and agrees to spy on a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the French government. Her future sister-in-law, Mariele de Crécy, is appalled by the gaps between rich and poor. She volunteers to look after destitute children whose families can barely afford to eat.

Somehow, Camille and Mariele must find the courage and strength to endure months of devastating siege, bloody civil war, and great personal risk. Through it all, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women, as they face the destruction of Paris and discover that in war women have as much to fight for as men.

War has a way of teaching lessons—if only Camille and Mariele can survive long enough to learn them.

I hope you like the gorgeous cover, which was designed by Jenny Quinlan of Historical Editorial.

You can pre-order Paris In Ruins now in ebook format from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Kobo, and Barnes & Nobel. It will soon be available from Apple iBooks and Google Books.

I’m grateful to have had the support of family, friends, and fellow authors throughout the journey.

DON’T MISS OTHER POSTS ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION.  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.