A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

She only waned to get out of town.

-- from A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable.

That's an appropriate Book Beginning for me because I took this book out of town with me. It is about an art appraiser (specializing in antique furniture) sent to Paris to value an apartment full of old furniture and art. The apartment had been locked up for 70 years, owned by someone who didn't live in Paris. When she died, her heir called in the appraisers to prepare the contents for auction. This was a good pick for my trip because I'm in Washington, DC, visiting a lot of museums, and seeing a lot of art.

 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from A Paris Apartment:

Marthe's flat was so thick with museum-quality furnishings one could hardly walk through without stumbling. April's flat was so sparse she wondered if there were enough places to rest both her backside and her computer simultaneously.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

April Vogt, Sotheby's continental furniture specialist, is speechless when a Paris apartment shuttered for seventy years is discovered in the ninth arrondissement. Beneath the cobwebs and stale perfumed air is a goldmine, and not because of the actual gold (or painted ostrich eggs or mounted rhinoceros horns or bronze bathtub). First, there's a portrait by one of the masters of the Belle Epoque, Giovanni Boldini. And then there are letters and journals written by the very woman in the painting, Marthe de Florian. These documents reveal that she was more than a renowned courtesan with enviable decolletage. Suddenly April's quest is no longer about the bureaux plats and Louis-style armchairs that will fetch millions at auction. It's about discovering the story behind this charismatic woman.