If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me say that I am not a historian, but a history buff. I’ve always been interested in the history of England, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch for me to set my series there. My protagonist is American, and because I’ve read British works written in the 19th century, spend a lot of time reading old newspapers and periodicals, and have a decent grasp of British history, I think (hope) that my British characters think and act like Brits.
Then I got this great idea to have my characters visit France.
The timeline of the series was moving into 1900 and Paris was holding both the Olympics and the Exposition Universelle, what we’d call the World’s Fair, that year. Between mid-April and mid-November, 54,000,000 people visited Paris for one or both of those events. Of course George and Frances had to go! I sold my editor on the idea, wrote up and outline, and sat down to write the story—and realized I know nothing about France.
As far as French history, I knew they were at war with Britain under the first French Republic, but only from my knowledge of British history. And because I knew there was a “First” French Republic, I could assume that ended and another form of government was established before they formed at least one more republic. I guessed that was when they had their revolution? Otherwise, I knew there were three Louises and two Napoleons. Right?
Yikes! I was in trouble.
If George and Frances were going to Paris, some of my characters would have to be French. They were secondary characters, but I didn’t want them to be stereotypes. I had to know a little about how they grew up, how they lived, and what their lives were like. It was time to plan a trip to Paris.
I got lucky in finding a guide who was a former history teacher. He helped me to envision Paris as it was in 1900 during the exposition. The French know how to do magnificent monuments, and though much of the pavilions and displays built for the exposition were temporary, they were still big and glittering and ornate! This was meant to showcase art and industry and the French were eager show the world the best of both.
I visited as many historic sites as I could and learned from the sites and the guides who were showing them that whether building a bridge, painting a picture, cooking a meal, or instructing a tourist, the French like to get things right.
Just so.
Perfect.
Which in part explains why only cheese made in a certain area can be called Roquefort. Only bubbly produced in a specific region can be called champagne. If you aren’t using the exact right ingredients, it won’t be exactly right and therefore cannot claim that name. It makes perfect sense to me now.
My trip to France wasn’t my only source of research, though it was the biggest influence. I also did a lot of reading in the period and even learning the French language was helpful in understanding the people. Sadly, my French still isn’t good enough to read the newspapers easily, but the New York Times had a Paris supplement that ran for the entirety of the exposition. I won’t make you suffer through hearing about everything I researched. Hopefully it was enough, and when you read An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, my characters will feel authentic.
