Best-selling novelist Diane Johnson brings to vivid life the celebrated St.-Germain-des-Pres quarter of Paris with riveting tales that capture the enduring allure of this famous district in the heart of the world's most beguiling city. Deliciously entertaining and true to the author's well-earned reputation as an astute observer of French society, INTO A PARIS QUARTIER, explores both the history and contemporary life of the fascinating Left Bank neighborhood. Johnson is eminently qualified on the topic, from her own longtime adopted home in St. -Germain and her intimate familiarity with the houses and haunts of its renowned residents.

The characters that populate this urban marvel are deftly presented, from the gripping story of Reine Margot, whose 16th -century chapel dome is visible through Johnson's kitchen window, to the swashbuckling denizens of the 17th century out of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, to the artists and intellectuals of the postwar golden age of jazz and existentialism. Best of all, readers experience modern daily life in this storied quarter through glimpses of her own days there, her apartment and cat, neighbors and friends, the cafes and shops she frequents. Animated by fresh observation and her uncommon understanding of French culture and idiosyncrasies, INTO A PARIS QUARTIER is a masterful and highly personal nonfiction achievement.

Johnson's signature wit, wry insight and tart opinions are evident throughout, as in her National Book Award-nominated Lesser Lives and Le Divorce, released as a major motion picture in 2003. Her acclaimed novel Le Manage was on the bestseller lists in the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post and Newsday, and was a New York Times Book Review "Notable Book" for 2000. Johnson's 13th novel, L'Affaire, was published to critical acclaim in October 2003. Twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and three times for the National Book Award, Johnson is also well known as an essayist and biographer, and as the screenwriter of Stanley Kubrick's blockbuster horror film The Shining. Her latest work, INTO A PARIS QUARTIER, will undoubtedly enchant her many fans as well as lovers of Paris everywhere.

Into A Paris Quartier
By Diane Johnson
Reine Margot's Chapel and Other Haunts of St. -Germain
National Geographic Books
Price: $20.00
ISBN: 0-7922-7266-8