Parisian Days

"Every so often a voice emerges from the archive so vivid that it seems impossible that it should ever have been forgotten." -- Evening Standard <p/>A brilliantly witty memoir telling the story of a young woman's determined struggle to realize her dreams of "freedom and fantasy" in 1920s Paris, appearing in English for the first time <p/>Told with vivacious wit and a lust for life, Parisian Days is a bittersweet portrayal of youthful dreams, and the elusive search for happiness. <p/>The Orient Express hurtles towards the promised land, and Banine is free for the first time in her life. She has fled her ruined homeland and unhappy forced marriage for a dazzling new future in Paris. Now she cuts her hair, wears short skirts, mingles with Russian émigrés, Spanish artists, writers and bohemians in the 1920's beau monde - and even contemplates love. <p/>But soon she finds that freedom brings its own complications. As her family's money runs out, she becomes a fashion model to survive. And when a glamorous figure from her past returns, life is thrown further into doubt. Banine has always been swept along by the forces of history. Can she keep up with them now? <p/>Part memoir, part social history, Parisian Days reads like a novel and feels timely and relevant. Originally published in the 1940s, this will be the first-ever English translation.