This week, February 2nd, is crepe day in France, la chandeleur in French, and Candlemas in English, when people feast on crêpes though no one is quite certain why. In any case, the ancient tradition, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin …
Why all the Chrysanthemums?
Today, November 1st is a public holiday in France — La Toussaint, or All Saints Day — when the Catholic church honours all the saints an martyrs of Christian history. Every All Saints Day, cemeteries all over France come alive (pun intended!) with people honouring their loved ones: weeding and tidying up graves, placing fresh …
Oradour-sur-Glane Tragedy
Twenty-two kilometres northwest of Limoges, in the heart of the Limousin countryside, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane minds its own business. The people run the shops, they farm the land and fish the lakes. After work they gather on the village square to share a drink, a game of cards or pétanque. Aproned housewives exchange gossip …
Black Plague Enlightened
The year is 1628. ‘Protect us from famine, war and plague, Seigneur,” cry the residents of Lyon, but their plea comes too late. The bubonic plague already crossed the Rhône River in August, terrifying the inhabitants and killing half of them. By 1643 they are desperate, and pray to the Virgin Mary to return good …
One Madame Nobody Wants to Meet!
Once dubbed the “National Razor” of France, Madame La Guillotine was the nickname Parisians gave to the device that beheaded their aristocratic French Revolution enemies, and which they held in great regard. In 1789, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed to the French government that decapitation by this lightning-quick machine would be more humane than the much-botched …
Let Them Eat Cake
While this phrase might have been wrongly attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution, she certainly was not high on the popularity stakes! The first important event I wanted to mark was the death of Marie Antoinette on 16th October, 1793. At 12h15, several weeks before her 38th birthday, she was guillotined on …
A Tale of the Flesh
Whilst writing my latest novel, Lake of Echoes, I took inspiration from a magazine article I wrote several years ago about the annual blood peach festival of Soucieu-en-Jarrest. This festival features in Chapter 24 of the book. A Tale of the Flesh By Liza Perrat A wide banner yawns into the soughing air. You are …
Happy #Bastille Day #FrenchRevolution
Tomorrow, France celebrates the storming of the Bastille on 14th July, 1789, an important event in Paris during the revolution that had begun two days beforehand. Celebrations are held all over the country, and it is a public holiday. And in the evening, in the rural French village in which I live, a party with …
New Summer Novel!
Today, I’m excited to announce the release of my new novel, Lake of Echoes! After writing a French historical trilogy (The Bone Angel), which can all be read as standalones, then three Australian-set drama novels, I hankered to return to a backdrop of rural France, where I live. I’ve always loved history, but wanted this …