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A Letter from Paris: a true story of hidden art, lost romance, and family reclaimed by [Louisa Deasey]

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Louisa Deasey

A Letter from Paris: a true story of hidden art, lost romance, and family reclaimed Kindle Edition

by Louisa Deasey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 165 ratings

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When Louisa Deasey receives a message from a French woman called Coralie, who has found a cachet of letters in an attic, written by Louisa's father, neither woman can imagine the events it will set in motion.

The letters, dated 1949, detail a passionate affair between Louisa's father, Denison, and Coralie's grandmother, Michelle, in post-war London. They spark Louisa to find out more about her father, who died when she was six. From the seemingly simple question 'Who was Denison Deasey?' follows a trail of discovery that leads Louisa to the libraries of Melbourne and the streets of London, to the cafes and restaurants of Paris and a poet's villa in the south of France. From her father's secret service in World War II to his relationships with some of the most famous bohemian artists in post-war Europe, Louisa unearths a portrait of a fascinating man, both at the epicenter and the mercy of the social and political currents of his time.

A Letter from Paris is about the stories we tell ourselves, and the secrets the past can uncover. A compelling tale of inheritance and creativity, loss and reunion, it shows the power of the written word to cross the bridges of time.

Print length

284 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Scribe
Publication date

September 3, 2018
File size

584 KB
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Kate Eastham
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautiful true story, engagingly told. So much joy and kindness between the covers."

-- "Natasha Lester, USA Today bestselling author" --This text refers to the mp3_cd edition.

About the Author

Louisa Deasey has published widely, including work in Overland, Vogue, The Australian, and The Age. Her first memoir, Love and Other U-Turns, was nominated for the Nita B. Kibble Award for women writers.

--This text refers to the mp3_cd edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07FN5GBL7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribe (September 3, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 3, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 584 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,263 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #492 in Romance Fiction Writing Reference
- #2,108 in Travel (Kindle Store)
- #2,173 in Travel Writing

Customer Reviews:
4.1 165 ratings

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Louisa Deasey

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Louisa Deasey is an Australian author who has been widely published as a freelance journalist in magazines and newspapers including Vogue, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Overland, Cosmopolitan, Sunday Life, Body + Soul, and many more…

Her first memoir, Love & Other U-Turns was published with Allen and Unwin in 2010 and nominated for the Dobbie Literary Award.

This year her second memoir, A Letter From Paris, which chronicles a chance discovery of her late father's life in post-war France, comes out from Scribe.

When not reading or writing, Louisa is dreaming of France, patting her furry feline Sabrina, drinking coffee and thinking of kindness and miracles.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

165 global ratings

5 star		47%
4 star		26%
3 star		21%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Sydney Town

Well written, enjoyable story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 6, 2019

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I read a review of this book, downloaded a sample and forgot about it. I started reading one night and was hooked. A fascinating true story of Luisa, a freelance journalist, whose father died when she was six, and and e-mail from Paris that started her on a journey of research to discover who her father really was. Luisa takes you on the journey with her as she researches her fathers life - delving through archive boxes in the State Library of Victoria (Melbourne) and in The National Library of Australia in Canberra. She then follows her fathers footsteps through post war London, Paris and rural France. Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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mikemac9

probably a touching story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 28, 2019

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The premise from the title and the back cover is pretty interesting. A message arrives out of the blue from a woman in Paris who uncovered a cache of letters from her grandmother who had a liaison with Louisa's father shortly after WWII. Add to that Louisa's father died when she was only seven so she barely knew him and that her family did not talk about him, the stage is set for a mystery to be solved and the past explained.

I found it hard to follow the book. As the chapters go on Louisa is in London, or Paris, or exploring box after box of her dad's letters in the Australian library archives. We never learn why these boxes are stored at the library, and what seems to be a chronological set of events starting with the arrival of the letter is hard to pull out of chapters that jump around in location and time.

3 people found this helpful

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C Davis

Lost sleep on this one

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 14, 2018

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I ended up staying up half the night because I couldn't put the book down. I loved the author's style and the story kept me turning pages for more. What a fascinating man her father must have been. None of us probably ever really know our parents and the events that shaped them but how wonderful that the author found stacks of letters and manuscripts that gave her an in depth look into a man she barely knew. He was friends with some of the great people of his time and greatly loved by them. I was glad to have had this chance to learn about him.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Read and enjoyed every word!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 15, 2018

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Magnificent book! Loved every word of it! I usually rush through books, skipping half the words, or stopping in the middle, boredom setting in. But this book lured me in, demanding that I read every single word. This book is a real treasure that hit me in the heart. Highly recommend this book!

One person found this helpful

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Tamara Jonas

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 19, 2018

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Love my book

One person found this helpful

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IsolaBlue

How to Get to Know Your Father When He's Dead

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2019

Imagine not knowing one's father and wishing for nothing more than to have had him in real life. Louisa Deasey did know her father, but he died when she was six years old leaving her with few memories. Her father, Denison Deasey was a creative man of the arts from Australia who fell in love with France and lived there for some time, falling in love with a French woman and marrying her, but also meeting other damsels along the way. He was most likely considered a minor writer by Australian categorization for although he wrote a great deal, he published little. When Louisa gets a message via social media from a woman in France whose grandmother died leaving a stack of love letters about Denison, Louisa's long-suppressed desire to truly search for her father's work, to read it, and to know him, comes alive.

A Letter from Paris is part genealogical research, but more generalized family history (Deasey does not go back much further than her grandparents), but more than that, a long reflective essay about what it is like to get to know one's father long after he has gone. Louisa Deasey is a freelance writer, but with the publication of this book, she may have found a new calling as a travel writer. A Letter from Paris intrigues the reader as one wants to know more about Denison Deasey, but, at the same time, it pulls the reader in with its descriptions of travel, particularly Paris and Saint Clair in France. Deasey has wonderful, heartfelt descriptions of not only what she sees and experiences in these places, but also of the deep connections she makes with people.

The author spends hours in libraries in Australia that now own her father's papers. It seems unfair that she needs to ask permission to see what rightfully should be hers. The library has strict rules about photocopying and photographing which means that, for the most part, unless she cheats, Deasey has to make endless notes of her father's writings using a tiny, preschool-sized pencil. As she sits all day in what sounds like a dark room with boxes and boxes of notebooks and manuscripts and letters, she begins to know and understand her father. Denison Deasey is a real character in the book: readers will identify with him and want to learn more. He lived a creative life, always a bit on the edge - the edge of success, the edge of poverty, the edge of creativity fulfilled. This makes him extremely interesting to read about. His daughter thinks so, too, and she sets about trying to understand where he succeeded and where he failed, and she sees much of herself in him. There is a strong familial identity which, of course, is only natural considering that the reading of his papers is about the closest she can get to him.

When Louisa was little, she received letters from France all the time from her Godmother, Gisele. Oddly - or maybe not so - Gisele was the French woman Denison married, only to leave her for Louisa's mother with whom he had three children late in life. Gisele, another fascinating character, was a liberal thinking Frenchwoman who allowed Denison to marry the Australian woman, and she continued to be in touch with her former husband and became interested and involved in the lives of his children through the mails between France and Australia. Obviously, Louisa's upbringing was different from that of other children, and it might have been even more different if her father hadn't died when he did. Evidently Louisa's mother was compelled to sell Denison's papers to the libraries so that she could keep a roof over the heads of herself and her children.

A Letter from Paris doesn't answer all our questions, of course. There is the mysterious Michelle whose letters start off the book, but her relationship with Denison is murky. There are all of Denison's writings - many of which we read about, but are not allowed to read, probably because they are owned by libraries that will not give permission. This is not to say that Louisa herself is not interesting, but there is something in this book that gives us the feeling that the next literary undertaking of hers should be a real biography of her father. On her own, she is - as already mentioned - a great travel writer - and we hope to go on many more trips with her in the future.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 1, 2019

A fantastic read! I could not put this book down. I read it in one sitting. It was such an engrossing, absorbing tale. I love these types of books detailing family mysteries. Louisa embarks on a journey to discover who her father really was. It put her in contact with people from around the globe, but a very special connection with a French family. It's a mesmerizing read. My only complaint is I wish the pictures had been included in the digital version. Thanks to Edelweiss for the early read.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

kym

Would be better as a short story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

I initially liked this book but as it went on I felt that the idea for it would have been a great short story but for me there just wasn't enough substance for a full size novel. I got bored about two thirds of the way in and just speed read the rest.

2 people found this helpful

Mirella A. Satoor de Rootas

A very personal and engaging tale. Well worth the read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

I found this moving story to be highly personal, almost like a window to the author's private life and emotions, written in such a way that it engaged me throughout the journey to the point that it felt like I myself was on this quest to unravel the mysteries of her father's life.

One person found this helpful

Gail Merritt

Just a tad self-indulgent

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on January 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

I found this book interesting as it introduced the author and her father but the memoir of her trip to France, filled with 'aren't I lucky to be standing near Notre Dame and have all these French folk fussing over me' moments and how the little fishing village in the south oozed charm were less successful. As someone who regularly visits France it felt superficial. Her father, for all his talent appeared to be a bit of a grifter when it came to his wealthier friends and I felt she was teetering into his footsteps. It was a story, almost told with the earlier period too speculative to be relished.

Sandy

An extremely moving memoir.

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on September 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

Louisa was only six when her father died, and she knew very little about him until an email arrived unexpectedly from France . Encouraged by her siblings and friends she began an incredible journey of discovery to learn about the father she barely remembered.
I heard Louisa on ABC Conversations last year, and was compelled to read her book. It is an incredibly well written and researched memoir which brought me to tears on several occasions.

2 people found this helpful

Mrs. J. Richmond

An impeccably researched book written from the heart

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on June 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

Louisa Deasey set out on a quest to 'find' her father. Denison Deasey is not a household name but he mixed with famous people all his life and was very influential in their lives. Coming to fatherhood in middle age and dying before his children developed adult relationships with him, he remained a mystery to them. Serendipity and determination helped this gifted writer who travelled in her father's footsteps, both literally and figuratively, to uncover her real father. She leaves no stone unturned but is also helped along the way by some remarkable coincidences. Louisa shares her deepest emotions with us and reveals the raw grief and anguish she has grappled with. One can't help but feel a strong empathy for the writer and a wonderful sense of relief for her. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The fact that I knew her father enhanced the experience for me. I didn't really 'know' him either.

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