Dear Paris

Paris comes alive in this collection of illustrated vignettes. Readers can wander the banks of the Seine, step into a neighborhood bakery, or stand beneath the Eiffel Tower without leaving home. The pages grew out of a plan to pay for travel: over a decade, the author ran a letter subscription that mailed thousands of hand-painted letters to people who liked receiving something unexpected in the post.

The project began on a whim in a Latin Quarter café. Janice MacLeod kept it going for years, documenting and celebrating everyday life in the city and sending monthly paintings and writing to readers scattered across the globe. This volume gathers the full run of 140 illustrated letters, which range in subject from macarons to Montmartre.

Long-time visitors will find their own memories here, whether that is a first stroll down the Champs-Élysées or a pain au chocolat they still think about. The book does not dwell only on the past. It captures Paris as it stands today, including elections, demonstrations, and the World Cup, along with the people who call the city home.

The tone is wistful, playful, and hopeful. It offers a vicarious trip to one of the world's most famous cities, told through the eyes of someone who chose to live there.