Talking Location With… author Lorraine Brown – PARIS

17th February 2021

TalkingLocationWith… Lorraine Brown, author of Uncoupling – PARIS

The first thing I knew for sure about my debut novel, Uncoupling, was that I wanted it to begin on a train. My ‘hook’ was that the story would start with a couple getting accidentally separated and ending up in different European cities and that while they were apart, lots of things about their relationship would change. It was an easy decision to set the story mainly in Paris, which is probably my favourite city in the world: not only is it a beautiful setting for a love story, but it also feels like the kind of place where anything could happen. And for me, it often does! My trips to Paris have never quite gone to plan. There was the weekend away with my then-very-new boyfriend involving a hotel room with an amazing view and an argument so bad that I walked around Montmartre on my own for most of the evening. Then there was the first trip with our baby son (yes, we resolved the argument!) – I’d imagined strolling along the Seine, my baby dozing happily in his buggy; enjoying the odd romantic meal while he slept. Instead, he came down with what turned out to be scarlet fever on night one and none of us slept a wink.

At first I wrote from memory – I’ve been to Paris eight or nine times and knew it well enough to place my characters there; to recall the sounds they might hear, to describe the kinds of people they might pass in the street. I went on two additional research day trips (the beauty of living in London and being able to jump on the Eurostar with ease). The first was in May 2018 when I was in the early stages of plotting and drafting. Since my main protagonists – Hannah and Léo – have a limited amount of time and need to stay close to Gare du Nord, I set most of the action around the Canal Saint-Martin, a beautiful part of the 10e arrondissement that you might recognise from the 2001 film Amélie. The area really sums up Paris for me, with its mix of artists, students and tourists meandering alongside the canal.

Lorraine Brown

My friend and I walked for miles, stopping off for coffee and cake, then for lunch and a glass of wine in Abbesses and finally to buy macarons at Galeries Lafayette. I took a few photos, but when I’m researching a location it’s more about soaking up the atmosphere and jotting down little details that I can pepper through the novel to make the story feel more authentic.

I did a second day trip on my own in December 2019. As well as my UK book deal with Orion, I also have a US deal with Penguin Random House and my editor there told me that American readers would love to see more of the quintessential Parisian landmarks. She wanted the Eiffel Tower! She wanted the Champs-Élysées!

As my story and characters were well-established by this point, I imagined them in these iconic locations as I power-walked around the city (there was a transport strike, so no metro and streets too gridlocked for taxis). My favourite discoveries were the Angelina tea room on Rue de Rivoli (I devoted an entire scene to its hot chocolate) and a tiny, typically Parisian street called Rue de l’Université, which has a stunning close-up view of the Eiffel Tower.

Since Léo is from Paris and clearly knows it very well, I also wanted to find some lesser-known locations and used The 500 Hidden Secrets of Paris by Marie Farman to help me find beautiful little squares and staircases that I thought would add quirkiness and romance to my story.

If you’re writing about a particular location and can’t manage to get there, I think creating a playlist for your novel can really help – I basically listened to the Amélie soundtrack on loop! I also re-watched Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (which is set mainly in Vienna but was very much the inspiration for the train scenes in Uncoupling) and the sequel, Before Sunset, as well as French TV series like The Hook Up Plan, a rom com about the love lives of a group of Parisian friends and Call My Agent!, a comedy drama about a top Paris talent agency. With the music, the visuals on TV and the (occasional!) glass of French wine, I could almost imagine myself back in Paris…

Lorraine Brown

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