Three Weeks in Paris

During three eventful weeks in Paris, four friends visit old haunts, rekindle ties, and awaken in each other the sense of wonder, adventure, and possibilities they had shared so long ago.

As students at the prestigious Anya Sedgwick School of Decorative Arts in Paris, Alexandra Gordon, Kay Lenox, Jessica Pierce and Maria Franconi share the challenges and excitement of developing their artistic talents to the fullest under Sedgwick's caring and demanding guidance. But once best friends, they part enemies, and after graduation they go their separate ways, pursuing careers and establishing lives in different corners of the world.

Alexandra, a set designer, becomes a leading figure in New York's theatre world. Kay, who marries and moves to Scotland, designs a successful line of clothing. Jessica, an interior designer, makes her home in California, while Maria returns to her native Italy, where she continues to work in her family's textile business.

For each of them, the arrival of an invitation to Paris to celebrate Anya Sedgwick's eighty-fifth birthday stirs up complicated feelings: nostalgic memories are coloured by poignant regrets and the reluctance to revisit their own pasts mixes with curiosity about the other women. It is ultimately their desire to deal with unfinished business that convinces all of them to attend the party. During three eventful weeks in Paris, they visit their old haunts, rekindle ties, and awaken in each other the sense of wonder, adventure, and possibilities they had shared so long ago.

Reviews

Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford:

'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times

‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian

‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday

‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun

‘The storyteller of substance.’ The Times

‘A compulsive, emotional read about love, lies and the ties that bind… Taylor Bradford is the most fabulous teller of stories’ Daily Mail

About the author

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in Leeds. She left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post.

At 16, she became a reporter on the paper and, at 18, its first Woman’s Editor. Aged 20, she moved to London and became a columnist and editor on Fleet Street.

Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestselling novels of all time and Barbara’s books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. In 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature.

Barbara was married to her beloved husband, television and film producer Robert Bradford, for 55 years until he died in 2019. She continued to live in New York and write novels, her last entitled The Wonder of It All, until she died in November 2024.