David Downie and Stephane Kirkland at McNally Jackson

I will be appearing on April 22nd at McNally Jackson Books in New York in a special evening with David Downie around the books we are publishing this month.

David and I both live in Paris and we share an insatiable curiosity for France, its ways, and its history. Now and then we can be found at a table hidden away in a small Parisian restaurant engaged in a wide-ranging discussion that flows from history to food, architecture, literature and many other subjects. We are delighted at the prospect of opening this conversation to our readers on April 22nd.

Paris to the PyreneesDavid is the author of a wonderful book of essays entitled Paris, Paris that I reviewed in 2011. This month, he publishes Paris to the Pyrenees, a book capturing the events and reflections of a walk through France along the way of Saint James.

In David’s hands, a walk along sometimes nearly completely abandoned trails through the French countryside becomes the opportunity for amusing and insightful reflections on everything from France’s Gallic and Roman legacies to the role of the French Resistance in the country’s identity to the impact on culture of the demographic changes in rural Burgundy.

We will also discuss the mid-nineteenth century, a period for which we both have an untiring interest, and its legacy in culture, architecture and more, most notably through the great story of the forging of modern Paris that I tell in Paris Reborn.

mcnallyjackson_logoWe look forward to the event and invite you to join us. It will take place at 7 PM on Monday, April 22nd at McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince Street, New York NY.  More information is available on the McNally Jackson web site.