Tea at Trianon: A Different Kind of Book Tour

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

A Different Kind of Book Tour

From the WSJ:

“IT MAY CALL ITSELF a town,” Neil Gaiman wrote in his 2001 novel “American Gods,” “but unless it’s got a bookstore it knows it’s not fooling a soul.”

These days, bookstores—especially the indie sort—tend to be talked about in the pitying tones normally reserved for the passenger pigeon. But in many American towns, they are alive and well (the bookstores, not the birds). According to the American Booksellers Association, sales at independent stores rose 8% in 2012 and have been holding steady since.

This summer, my husband and I took a 5,000-mile drive that began as work—my book tour—and ended up being one of our best vacations. The itinerary was dictated not by the locations of national parks or can’t-miss restaurants but great indie bookstores. To our delight, that meant stops in some very appealing towns. Places with flourishing bookshops, we found, have vibrant arts scenes, innovative restaurants and prospering local businesses. Here, six of the most notable stops

Southern Spell: Oxford, Miss.

William Faulkner ’s “own little postage stamp of native soil” looks like a movie set of a perfect Southern town, with gracious buildings set around a central square. It’s not all looks: Thanks to Faulkner and Ole Miss, Oxford also offers great contemporary writers ( John Grisham, Beth Ann Fennelly and Ace Aktins), football and food.

The Z bed-and-breakfast is a cozy inn five minutes from the square; it serves a huge breakfast that can carry you past lunch. For dinner, John Currence ’s City Grocery dishes up elevated Southern fare such as Maque Choux Fritters—creamed-corn fritters with tomato jam and fresh thyme. Nearby Ajax Diner serves a mean meat-and-three. (Read more.)