Exciting! The Paris Cooking School will be coming out in Germany next year, in May, published by Droemer Knaur . It’s got a new title–Zweite Chancen à la Carte (Second Chances à la Carte), with the subheading of Die kleine Kochschule in Paris (The little cooking school in Paris) and a new cover. And here that cover is, looking gorgeous!
The audio edition of A Secret Garden in Paris, produced by Wavesound and narrated by actor, writer, and translator Jayne Tuttle, is now available for purchasing and listening on your favourite audio platform. Jayne’s Australian but has lived and worked in Paris and her understanding of the city and its people really adds that special touch. It’s such a thrill to listen to the novel unfolding through her seamless, sensitive, warm narration!
That’s the title of a little piece I wrote with tips about ten ‘secret gardens’ in Paris you can visit, which are unlikely to be found in guidebooks–or at least aren’t so well-known! It was published online, on the 9Travel site, and you can read it all here.
Here’s the list–without my descriptions and comments, all of which you can find in the published article linked above, but I’ve added here links where you can find out more about each:
Les Rosiers/Joseph Migneret: https://www.afrenchcollection.com/small-secret-garden-in-the-marais-paris/
La Roseraie des Arquebusiers: https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/square-saint-gilles-grand-veneur-pauline-roland-p907
Jardin du Port de l’Arsenal: https://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-vert/jardin-du-port-de-larsenal
Clos des Blancs Manteaux: https://www.timeout.com/paris/en/things-to-do/attractions/clos-des-blancs-manteaux
Jardin des Arts/Albert Schweitzer: https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-visit-in-paris/walks/articles/221347-the-jardin-des-arts-albert-schweitzer-a-green-setting-in-the-heart-of-paris
Le Square du Temple: https://www.travelfranceonline.com/square-du-temple-quartier-du-temple/
Parc de Belleville: https://www.parisinsidersguide.com/parc-de-belleville-paris.html
Garden of the Theatre of the Rond-Point des Champs Élysées: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_du_Rond-Point
La Coulée Verte /La Promenade Plantée: .https://www.thebluewalk.com/walk-on-the-coulee-verte-and-promenade-plantee/
Le Parc de Bagatelle: https://www.french-gardens.com/gardens/bagatelle.php
The article on the 9travel website is illustrated with stock images which 9travel themselves sourced, but I also have photos myself of the gardens I mention. Most of them I took, but a few (all of the Clos des Blancs Manteaux, all of the Coulee Verte, the autumn shot of Albert Schweitzer garden and the black and white pic of the Port de l’Arsenal) are by my Paris-based brother in law Bruno Jan, who is a fabulous photographer. Here’s a gathering of some of them, for your enjoyment!
First block shows, from left to right: Les Rosiers/Joseph Migneret; Roseraie des Arquebusiers; Jardin du Port de l’Arsenal
Second block, from left to right: Albert Schweitzer 2 pics–in spring and autumn; Clos des Blancs Manteaux (2 pics)
Third block, from left to right: Square du Temple (2 pics): Parc de Belleville.
Fourth block (all pics): Coulee Verte
Fifth block, left to right: Parc de Bagatelle(2 pics: Jardin du Rond Point
There’s a fabulous gathering of wonderful reviews of A Secret Garden in Paris, from readers who participated in Better Reading’s Preview opportunity, which meant they could read advance copies of the book. I am just so thrilled and touched by the warmth with which so many people have responded to my novel–thank you all so much! Many thanks to Better Reading and Ultimo Press for making it possible.
You can read all the reviews here.
Such a wonderful local launch of the book yesterday, in the very congenial atmosphere of Cafe Patisserie Armidale! Lovely engaged crowd, lots of books sold by Reader’s Companion, delicious petits fours, flowers, chilled wine, great atmosphere, a bright sunny day–all the ingredients for a fantastic event which launched my book in the most enjoyable way!
Many thanks to Enora, Nathan and all the staff at Cafe Patisserie, to Michelle at Reader’s Companion, and to all the lovely people who came to celebrate with me!
In very nice news, The Paris Cooking School has now been republished in B format, which is smaller in size than the original format but just as lovely, with the AWW Great Read sticker on the front too! It’s in all the shops now and retails at $24.99.
What a lovely surprise to discover, the latest (December) issue of Australia’s bestselling magazine, the Australian Women’s Weekly, a truly fabulous review of A Secret Garden in Paris--I am so delighted!
Had a lovely time last Thursday signing copies of A Secret Garden in Paris in our fabulous local Armidale bookshops: Reader’s Companion (thank you, Michelle and Chelsea!) and Collins Booksellers(thank you, Georgina!) Here are a few pics from that day.
It’s time to celebrate–today, A Secret Garden in Paris, my new novel for adults under the name of Sophie Beaumont, is officially released! I am so thrilled that it’s out in the world now, and hopefully will soon land in the hands of many, many readers. So many of you wonderful readers took my previous novel, The Paris Cooking School, to their hearts, and I hope you will also love A Secret Garden in Paris. I am delighted that already there have been some wonderful advance reviews of the book, you can read them here.
Writing this novel took me on an extraordinary journey, as I followed my characters Emma, Charlotte and Arielle through the winding paths of their lives in Paris, against a background of that glorious green and flowery world that’s such an integral part of the charm of the city. Over the years I’ve visited most of the places my characters went to, but I discovered quite a few more in the process of researching and writing the novel, as well as some fascinating facts and anecdotes about Paris gardens, a few of which found their way into the book. (By the way, I’ll soon be publishing a couple of pages on this blog, about the locations in the book and also on my favourite flowers–watch this space!)
I’d like to acknowledge the many people who have helped make this book such a lovely reality: many thanks to my wonderful agent, Margaret Connolly, for her encouragement, suggestions and support; to all the fantastic Ultimo Press team, for their dedicated, thoughtful and inspired commitment to making this book the very best it could be; and to Cheryl Orsini for the gorgeous peony and fabulous map. Special thanks to my husband David, gardener extraordinaire, for advice on plants and the restoration of overgrown gardens, and to my Paris-based sister Gabrielle and brother-in-law Bruno whose intimate knowledge of the city’s gardens helped to greatly expand my repertoire. And to all my beautiful family in Australia, France and the UK, I am so very grateful for your loving support and encouragement, as always.
And now I’m off to celebrate!
I’m really looking forward to two wonderful events that are going to be held in November, one in Armidale, one in Sydney, to celebrate the release of my new Sophie Beaumont book, A Secret Garden in Paris.
The first is the hometown launch, in Armidale, on Saturday November 9, at 2pm, and it’s going to be at the gorgeous Cafe Patisserie, where last year we had a fabulous launch for The Paris Cooking School. As with last year, our great independent bookshop, Reader’s Companion will be there to sell books, and there’ll be French wine, and other drinks, and little garden/spring inspired cakes created by Nathan at Cafe Patisserie, it’s going to be a lot of fun! Invitation is below the text of this post–all welcome!
The second will be held in Sydney, at Five Dock Library, on Thursday November 21, starting at 5.30 pm, and the fantastic Sydney independent bookshop, Better Read than Dead, will be there to sell book. There’ll be light refreshments, a talk from me about the book, and then book signing! All very welcome! The event is free, but you need to register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/author-talk-sophie-beaumont-tickets-956990011887
Feathers of the Firebird 