Wow!
It seems there has been some news this week about the very apartment that inspired my novel. Not sure the reason behind the sudden resurgence/interest but if you’ve stumbled upon this page (and many of you have) looking for more information… welcome!
Marthe de Florian as painted by Giovanni Boldini
Not sure you’ll find all that much about the woman, the demimondaine from the Boldini painting, here on my blog. Very little is known and my book is, after all, fiction! Though it is based on the facts as we know them. If this is the kind of fiction that appeals to you, The Paris Apartment will be published by St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books this Spring. It comes out on April 22. I would love to hear from you if you decide to take the plunge and read it! I am on on Facebook and on Twitter if you’re at all interested in staying in touch. The entire spring SMP catalog can be found here (the book is on page 6) if you want to learn more about the novel.
Of course I completely understand the vast Marthe de Florian googling. After all, the original article about the apartment is why this book exists at all. My agent forwarded me a link with the note “you could do something great with this” and voilà! Here we are! It really was that simple (ha ha-if only!)
Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear from you and hope you stick around. Happy reading! And I hope Marthe inspires you too. 🙂
To the author: were you able to get a glimpse of the shuttered apartment and its treasure chests yourself? Or any chance you will?
Unfortunately, no, I never saw the inside of the apartment! I’ve seen the building though. The auction of the items happened several years ago so there’s nothing left to see. I wish I was one of the lucky few who stepped inside when the discovery was made. 🙂
So the belongings were indeed auctioned off? I first heard of this wondrous discovery thanks to a YouTube account that had some photos of the apartment from when it was first opened, and I did some Googling myself to find out more about it. What I saw said the apartment had been locked up again and was in possession of the De Florian estate, so I had pictured it still secure.
I, too, had the thought of writing a novel about the place and the inhabitants! It’s such a mysterious romantic story that my imagination went wild! I’ll be looking for your book and snagging a copy of it for myself! Good for you for doing it!!
Here’s the YouTube account and the conversations we’ve had, if you’re interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9BKq327BQI The title is “Paris Apartment Unlocked after 70 Years!”
I look forward to looking at some more of your links and information that you have here on your blog! Hope your book does well!
Carol