Published Aug. 1, 2023-William Morrow-Historical Fiction-384pp

Book Summary

From the author of The School for German Brides, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth century and post–World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre.

 1870: The Prussians are at the city gates, intent to starve Paris into submission. Lisette Vigneau—headstrong, willful, and often ignored by her wealthy parents—awaits the outcome of the war from her parents’ grand home in the Place Royale in the very heart of the city. When an excursion throws her into the path of a revolutionary National Guardsman, Théodore Fournier, her destiny is forever changed. She gives up her life of luxury to join in the fight for a Paris of the People. She opens a small bakery with the hopes of being a vital boon to the impoverished neighborhood in its hour of need. When the city falls into famine, and then rebellion, her resolve to give up the comforts of her past life is sorely tested.

1946: Nineteen-year-old Micheline Chartier is coping with the loss of her father and the disappearance of her mother during the war. In their absence, she is charged with the raising of her two younger sisters. At the hand of a well-meaning neighbor, Micheline finds herself enrolled in a prestigious baking academy with her entire life mapped out for her. Feeling trapped and desperately unequal to the task of raising two young girls, she becomes obsessed with finding her mother. Her classmate at the academy, Laurent Tanet, may be the only one capable of helping Micheline move on from the past and begin creating a future for herself. 

Both women must grapple with loss, learn to accept love, and face impossible choices armed with little more than their courage and a belief that a bit of flour, yeast, sugar, and love can bring about a revolution of their own. 

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This review was first published in the Historical Novels Review magazine, August 1, 2023, for the Historical Novel Society.

A little bakery in the heart of Montmartre is the way forward for Aimie K. Runyan’s dual timeline set in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and post-World War 11. Lisette Vigneau is the fiercely independent, mostly ignored daughter of wealthy parents living in Place Royal in 1870. On an unlikely errand Lisette meets Theodore Fournier, a young National Guardsman. Runyan develops a believable, understandable relationship between Lisette and Theo, a revolutionary and believer in a Paris of the People, that forever changes Lisette’s destiny.  During the Prussian siege the main supply lines were blocked, causing famine and leading Lisette to open a bakery to feed her starving neighbors.

The second character is Lisette’s nineteen-year-old great-granddaughter, Micheline Chartier, now living in the same narrow, crooked streets of Montmartre in 1946. Micheline, raising two sisters since her father’s death and her mother’s disappearance, is befriended by her mother’s friend and neighbor, Madame Dupuis. Central to Micheline’s future, Madame Dupuis lends wisdom and encouragement by sharing memories, cookbooks, and providing tuition for baking school. Runyan’s key plot ingredient is the discovery of Micheline’s great-grandmother’s red leather-bound journal of recipes and kitchen notes. Lisette’s journal connects the timelines in the narrative by transporting readers with practices of bakeries in nineteenth century Paris.

Runyan uplifts characters through meaningful, sympathetic dialogue that is endearing and emotional. Especially well scaled is Pierrine, an acerbic prostitute Runyan develops into a surprising and supportive sister for Lisette; one to celebrate. Runyan brings Micheline’s war-ravaged emotions full circle from abandonment issues, jealousy, and guilt to a need for forgiveness.  Through the dark green door of A Bakery in Paris readers will discover chaotic political scenes, second chances at life and love, and the choices and courage of two young women facing the consequences of war.