The author calls himself a musical Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and here are his memoirs. This book is the story of a symphonic- vs. -stagestruck composer - born Vladimir Dukelsky in a small railroad station in Russia - who wrote a Diaghilev ballet, symphonic music praised by the critics, as well as numerous Broadway hits, including the score to Cabin in the Sky, and the ever-popular tune "April in Paris." Paris is the pivot on which these confessions turn - the full-blown Paris of Christian Berard and Jean Cocteau and "Les Six," of the ballet Russe under its incomparable impresario, Diaghilev. Vladimir Dukelsky fell in love with Paris. He writes vividly and longingly of his life there - of his plush and penniless days; his friendships and quarrels with Prokofiev, the Sitwells, Serge and Natalya Koussevitzky and a host of other luminaries; his encounters with Massine and Balanchine that opened the door to Diaghilev, a commission - and recognition. And then, America. It was the America of the golden twenties and "thirsty thirties" - it was the age that saw the Shubert Follies, the infant Theatre Guild, the movies ground out on Long Island - it was the heyday of Ethel Merman, Bea Lillie, Maurice Chevalier, Ginger Rogers, Noel Coward, George and Ira Gershwin and in all-star bill of other favorites. Popular music was popular as never before and Vernon Duke knew he had a knack for tunes. Through it all, Dukelsky pulled against Duke - acclaim mounted in Europe; battle was pitched in Boston with Koussevitzky; Evelyn Hoey sang "April in Paris" in Walk a Little Faster, which starred Bea Lillie; Hollywood nodded; Gershwin and Prokofiev each demanded another score. An irresistible lyricist hove on the scene in the person of Ogden Nash, with whom a lifelong friendship developed. It was a madcap merry-go-round of ups and downs, frantic friends, strong emotions involving a number of women. Vernon Duke loved every minute of it, and he writes with often startling candor both of his own checkered career and those of the figures he has known. This book beats out a lively syncopation of wit and gusto and off-beat memories, extending a handsome invitation to meet the theatrical and musical greats of the past three decades - and to share in the indefinable magic of the city everyone loves best. --Dust jacket.

It all begins with one hot night in Paris… The Honorable Miss Dorothy McGovern is in dire straits. Along with her brother, Damien, as children of the youngest son of a huge, aristocratic family, she has only her connections to her name, and what little money she inherited is running out. In a last-ditch effort to save themselves from ruin, she and Damien have joined the rest of the McGovern cousins on a grand tour. First stop, Paris. Lord Marshall Stone, the brand-new Duke of Reith, has fled to Paris to visit his disgraced brother and to drown his grief over his father’s death in parties and female company. His reputation is going downhill fast, and he has no wish to save it. He even goes so far as to seduce a woman he thinks is the pretty companion of one of his friends. Except, the woman he seduces turns out to be his friend’s cousin and a noblewoman in her own right. One he can’t stop thinking about or wanting. To make matters worse, a mysterious figure begins sending threats that could destroy both Marshall and Dorothy and put the entire McGovern family in danger. The unlikely lovers must work together to figure out who is blackmailing them and to save the entire family from social ruin. TALES FROM THE GRAND TOUR is a steamy, light-hearted Victorian series, set in the 1890s, that follows the wild, unconventional, often scandalous McGovern cousins as they make their way through Europe and beyond. PLEASE BE ADVISED – Steam Level: Five-Alarm Fire with a few F-bombs. Don’t say you weren’t warned. Tales from the Grand Tour: THE DUKE OF PARIS RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS LAST CHANCE FOR PARIS TUSCAN SUNRISE VENETIAN SUNSHINE ROMAN SUNSET

In Paris in the Dark Eric Smoodin takes readers on a journey through the streets, cinemas, and theaters of Paris to sketch a comprehensive picture of French film culture during the 1930s and 1940s. Drawing on a wealth of journalistic sources, Smoodin recounts the ways films moved through the city, the favored stars, and what it was like to go to the movies in a city with hundreds of cinemas. In a single week in the early 1930s, moviegoers might see Hollywood features like King Kong and Frankenstein, the new Marlene Dietrich and Maurice Chevalier movies, and any number of films from Italy, Germany, and Russia. Or they could frequent the city's ciné-clubs, which were hosts to the cinéphile subcultures of Paris. At other times, a night at the movies might result in an evening of fascist violence, even before the German Occupation of Paris, while after the war the city's cinemas formed the space for reconsolidating French film culture. In mapping the cinematic geography of Paris, Smoodin expands understandings of local film exhibition and the relationships of movies to urban space.

Drawing on a wealth of sources from different disciplines, the essays here provide a nuanced picture of how medieval and early modern societies viewed murder and dealth with murderers.

In this luminous portrait of Paris, the celebrated historian gives us the history, culture, disasters, and triumphs of one of the world’s truly great cities. While Paris may be many things, it is never boring. From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIV (who abandoned Paris for Versailles); Napoleon’s rise and fall; Baron Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris (at the cost of much of the medieval city); the Belle Epoque and the Great War that brought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and the postwar period dominated by de Gaulle--Horne brings the city’s highs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes and villains splendidly to life. With a keen eye for the telling anecdote and pivotal moment, he portrays an array of vivid incidents to show us how Paris endures through each age, is altered but always emerges more brilliant and beautiful than ever. The Seven Ages of Paris is a great historian’s tribute to a city he loves and has spent a lifetime learning to know. "Knowledgeable and colorful, written with gusto and love.... [An] ambitious and skillful narrative that covers the history of Paris with considerable brio and fervor." —LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW