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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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BELLE EPOQUE
In alluring turn-of-the-19th century Paris, a young girl provides a most unusual service: she is a friend for hire.
Maude Despins, a young runaway from rural Normandy, arrives in Paris with a sliver of hope and even slimmer savings. A plain, slightly gawky teen, she feels like a fish out of water in the bustling city. Desperate for work, she finds a job as a “Repoussoir” with the Durandeau agency. Repoussoirs are a new craze among highly competitive aristocratic elite. They are hired for their lack of beauty, to make their clients shine like a jewel in comparison.
Maude is handpicked by the imposing Countess Dubern for her daughter Isabelle, a sweet, shy girl who loves books more than fancy balls. Maude and Isabelle unexpectedly strike up a true friendship; both are misfits in their different worlds. But Isabelle has no idea that Maude was hired to be her Repoussoir, and Maude is desperate for her not to find out—for the sake of their friendship and for Maude’s own survival in the unforgiving City of Lights.
Inspired by a short story by Emile Zola, this debut novel transports you to a fascinating Parisian era, where the soaring construction of the brand-new Eiffel Tower hints at a promising world to come.
Elizabeth Ross studied French and film studies at university in Scotland. She lives in Los Angeles, California and when she isn't writing, she edits feature films. BELLE EPOQUE is her first novel. You can visit her at www.elizabethrossbooks.com and follow her on twitter @RossElizabeth
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Book
Published 2013-06-11 by Delacorte |