'No one writes about food like Ruth Reichl... I consider her essential nourishment.' NIGELLA LAWSON

Ripping open the envelope, she read Celia's last words to her. There was just one line written on the paper: 'Go to Paris.'

The last word anyone would use to describe Stella St. Vincent is adventurous. She's perfectly comfortable with the familiar, strict routines of her life as a copyeditor in New York. Or at least, she is until she receives a mysterious note from her late mother and a one-way plane ticket to Paris.

Alone and overwhelmed in a foreign city, Stella avoids new people and ventures out as little as possible. But then she meets Jules, an octogenarian art collector with very different ideas about how she should spend her time in the French capital. And to start with, there's a vintage Dior dress with her name on it.

Somewhere between the cramped shelves of Shakespeare and Company bookshop, the crisp tablecloths of the Brasserie Les Deux Magots and a pile of discarded paintings at a busy flea market, long-buried truths about Stella's own past begin to emerge. Soon she starts to wonder if there might not have been more to her mother's suggestion than she first suspected...

'Ruth Reichl is one of our greatest storytellers. No one writes as warmly and engagingly about the all-important intersection of food, life, love, and loss.' ALICE WATERS

Stella arrives in Paris and rediscovers her appetite for life, in this irresistible novel about taking chances and finding your true home, by a New York Times-bestselling author

About the Author

Ruth Reichl is the New York Times-bestselling author of five memoirs, the novel Delicious!; and the cookbook My Kitchen Year. She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine for ten years. Previously she was the restaurant critic for the New York Times and served as the food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard awards for her journalism, magazine feature writing, and criticism. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two cats.

Reviews

'This is nothing less than absolute enchantment.' Nigella Lawson

'I absolutely loved this gastro-tour through the streets of Paris - and further afield in France. A wonderful treat.' Veronica Henry, author of Thirty Days in Paris

'Few [authors] are so riotously, effortlessly entertaining as Ruth Reichl... [She] is also witty, fair-minded, brave, and a wonderful writer.' New York Times Book Review

'Stella decamps to the City of Light - and pungent goat cheese, chilled wine, garlicky snails - in this giddy, escapist confection from Ruth Reichl, food writer par excellence.' Vanity Fair

'Rich, colourful and seductive... Get yourself some cheese, baguette, red wine, and let The Paris Novel take you on a remarkable holiday for the soul.' Nina George, author of The Little Paris Bookshop

'Ruth Reichl is the best sort of storyteller - intimate, wise, frank, and completely engaging.' Susan Orlean, bestselling author of The Orchid Thief

'Ruth Reichl is one of our greatest storytellers. No one writes as warmly and engagingly about the all-important intersection of food, life, love, and loss.' Alice Waters, restaurateur and author of We Are What We Eat

'Reichl is one of the best food writers of our era.' Vox

'It had me at "Heartburn meets Mrs Harris Goes to Paris". Described as the feel-good book of the summer, The Paris Novel from bestselling author and food writer Ruth Reichl, follows Stella around 1980s Paris as she breaks free from the structure of her life as a copywriter in New York's power-broking heyday. Expect romps around literary haunts like Shakespeare and Company and Les Deux Magots.' Marie Claire 'Summer Reads'

'Reichl's irresistible charms should be savoured.' US Weekly

'I love everything Ruth Reichl writes and not only is The Paris Novel no exception, it is, page after page, an enchanting and irresistible feast.' Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest

'In Ruth Reichl's singularly capable hands, how could Paris be anything less than completely delicious?... Hopelessly and hopefully romantic-you will devour this novel.' Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

'A splendid novel of family, food, and all things French, by one of the world's best food writers at the top of her game.' J. Ryan Stradal, author of Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

'What a joy... This is a sumptuous book that I simply could not put down. C'est formidable!' Julia Louis-Dreyfus

'The Paris Novel is a movable feast through France in the 1980s, with stops in memorable bistros, markets, and Left Bank cafes.' David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen

'Sensual and sweeping, Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel is for anyone who wants to believe that a great meal, a work of art, and an intimate conversation all have the ability to change your life.' Lillian Li, author of Number One Chinese Restaurant

'A delicious feast for the senses, taking the reader on an enchanting journey through the city of love, and following Stella's adventure into a bolder, more beautiful life.' Oprah Daily, 'Most Anticipated Books of 2024'

'Savor Paris through this story of a lost young woman who finds herself in a city she never knew she'd love, let alone finally feel at home in. It's all here: Les Deux Magots, Dior, L'Ami Louis, and Shakespeare and Company. And there is no better guide than Ruth Reichl.' Padma Lakshmi, New York Times-bestselling author of Love, Loss, and What We Ate

'Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel whisks us into an enchanting world full of Parisian pleasures, mouthwatering delights, and entangled mysteries... The Paris Novel is a gem.' Bianca Bosker, author of Get the Picture

'When straitlaced Stella's aloof mother dies, she leaves a note that says "Go to Paris" -and Stella decides to listen. Reichl, the former editor of Gourmet and a bestselling author of food memoirs, writes a whimsical novel about self-discovery at any age.' Chatelaine

'Reichl's writing reads like a dish you want to savour, slowly chewing each perfectly chosen word.' Eater

'Ruth Reichl takes on the City of Lights one bite at a time... A bit of divine intervention-in the form of a Dior dress and a well-connected new friend-opens up a new world for Stella, one that's full of adventure, mystery, and oysters.' Town & Country Magazine, 'The Best Books to Read in April 2024'

'A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.' CBC Books

'Be transported to the City of Light on an adventure with Stella, whose estranged mother dies and leaves her a one-way plane ticket to Paris. With the help of a friend, an amazing designer dress and a lot of incredible meals - she discovers her destiny. Delicious.' Best Magazine

'A novel that charms with a series of characters real and imagined who animated Paris in the 1980s, feeding both their soul and their stomachs.' Forbes

'I've been a huge fan of food writer Ruth Reichl's work for a long time... So I was thrilled when Reichl recently published The Paris Novel, a mouthwatering novel set in 1980s Paris that's full of the sort of delicious food details I adore. If you're a foodie and book lover like me, The Paris Novel is tailor made for you.' Evelyn Skye in Nerd Daily

'Food critic and novelist Reichl serves up a delectable story of an introverted copy editor's life-changing visit to Paris in the 1980s... The expressive prose makes tangible Stella's awakening as she develops a passion for French culture and cuisine... Reichl serves a feast for the senses.' Publishers Weekly

'A love letter to a world city... Francophiles and armchair travellers alike will relish the chance to tour Paris's famous churches, museums, and restaurants.' Shelf Awareness

'Food critic Ruth Reichl knows how to whip up a treat with her charmer The Paris Novel... You might as well read it now so you can cast the characters in the movie version surely fated to come.' Parade

Book Information
ISBN 9780861548835
Author Ruth Reichl
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Magpie
Publisher Oneworld Publications
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 21mm