Les Deux Rives: Roman

Set against the bustling backdrop of turn‑of‑the‑century Paris, the novel opens in the grand courtyard of the Collège de France. A determined young woman, Mme Chambannes, darts through the crowd to catch an Egyptology lecture, her fashionable attire and quick mind drawing amused attention from the college’s officious appariteur. The scene crackles with the clatter of carriage doors, the flutter of pigeons, and a swirl of academic ambition, establishing a lively portrait of a city where scholarship and society intersect.

Soon she bumps into the spirited Mme de Marquesse, and their banter quickly turns to a missing letter from a mysterious Gérald, hinting at personal secrets tangled with the scholarly pursuits surrounding them. Through sparkling dialogue and vivid descriptions, the narrative explores themes of curiosity, social maneuvering, and the alluring pull of the ancient world. As the crowd swells and the lecture threatens to overflow, readers are invited to follow these women’s witty quest for knowledge and connection, all while sensing an undercurrent of intrigue that promises deeper revelations.