Q. In the earlier novels, Penny’s English side of the family dominates. Now, in this novel, Penny gets an unexpected visit from a French cousin, which sets the whole romp in motion. What prompted you to write a novel about the French family connection now?
Penny’s French father and his family were always there in the background, so I wanted to find out more about them. The cousin who entices Penny into this world, Honorine, is someone who Penny compares to the rabbit that led Alice in Wonderland on all her adventures. Since Penny hasn’t really known these relatives until now, they represent a “buried treasure”, in other words, an aspect of herself that she has always wished to explore but didn’t dare. It’s as if she’s giving herself permission to be sensual, sophisticated, and natural.
Q. Penny’s French relatives are at odds with Jeremy’s English family, in a struggle about which country the wedding will be held in. Is there something inevitable about a tug-of-war over weddings where families are involved?
It would seem so. Jeremy observes that they are in peril of re-igniting the Hundred Years’ War between France and England! No matter how amicable a couple is, they’re not immune from the pressures that families invariably exert. So, in dealing with these warring factions, Penny and Jeremy find themselves bickering as they try to work out their differences. But even when they argue, there’s a fondness and intelligence between them, underneath the strain. Ultimately, they genuinely like, and prefer, each other’s company, so they are willing to put their loyalty to each other first.
Q. What made you use an ancient tapestry as a linchpin of the story?
I found that a tapestry is a very enjoyable and useful way to illustrate the complexity of customs and emotions that surround weddings. I had great fun with the notion of golden threads, loose ends, knots and entanglements. Historically, weddings evoke various traditions, and not all of them are so great for women, what with bartered brides and other such arrangements. For today’s brides, these can be confusing metaphors, resulting in a patchwork of values which often contradict one another. Are love and passion essential to marriage? Is it necessary to declare one’s intentions to the world? Is a wedding a ceremony for parents, or for the people who are marrying? Every bride must sort out this puzzle for herself, but it helps to look at history, and why these traditions began. Penny isn’t interested in displaying her wealth, nor are her parents trying to marry her off to make some social or political connection; so she must reject a few of the old rituals. At the same time, she is bemused and confused by some of our narcissistic, vainglorious twenty-first century trends. But if a betrothed couple takes the time to sort out what matters to them, they just might find the thread that leads them out of the labyrinth, and they can emerge even stronger.
Q. As they ascend higher in society, Penny and Jeremy encounter some very powerful, sometimes strange movers-and-shakers in Geneva and Monte Carlo. At the same time, Penny must research her family’s French ancestors, which leads her to the rarefied world of artists and their rich patrons during the reign of the Sun King of France. There seem to be some parallels here—aren’t there?—between the wealthy of today and the wealthy of the “ancien régime” ?
Yes, indeed, although I must say that I did not set out to do that. It just evolved in the story; it was one of those serendipitous things that make writing such a pleasure. The card games, the ostentatious display of wealth and power, the peculiar inability to ever have enough. Humanity does seem to repeat itself in history. And, underneath it all lurk the same human fears, insecurities and lack of self-awareness, which do play out in the most astonishing ways.
Q. Trains “run through” this novel quite a bit. There’s the legendary Train Bleu restaurant in Paris. And the character of Venetia, the aging ballerina, recalls the actual train bleu from the 1930s. Without giving away the rest of the story, let’s just say that there are other fanciful occasions involving trains in the novel. Are these trains a symbol of Penny’s journey?
Yes, because trains have traditionally been a meditative way to move forward, from which you can view not only where you’re going, but where you’ve been. A train window is also a vista to parts of the country that you may not see from the road or the air. So, it’s a way for Penny to find links not only between France and England, but also between her ancestral past and her own future.
Q. Clocks and time seem to have special significance in the novel. How did this come about?
This, too, was something that began in a small way but then took on more significance, quite naturally, as the story unfolded. And, like the tapestry, a clock can be much more than a mere decoration. I find that antique clocks are often very sweet, for they were handmade in an era when their creators were inspired by natural symbols of the passage of time—the stars, the planets, the tides. So, while such clocks measure the fleeting nature of life on Earth, they can sometimes capture that which is eternal.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. As Penny is planning her wedding, she is introduced to all kinds of couples, both in her life and in her historical research. Discuss the various unions in the story. How do they differ? How do they inf luence Penny’s decisions? Are there certain qualities that all couples have in common?
2. Why does Penny feel unsettled about getting married? What events increase her uncertainty? What is she trying to protect? How does the city of Paris affect her?
3. Jeremy is under pressure from his relatives to conform to what his family regards as a proper and conventional approach to the wedding. This causes conflict between him and Penny, until he has an insight which seems to suddenly clear the air. What was this important insight?
4. There are heroic images of knights, and “trials” and “triumphs” in the tapestry, as well as the image of a betrothed couple passing under an archway to test the sincerity of their love. What trials did Penny and Jeremy have to go through in order to reach their wedding day in the spirit that they wanted?
5. What do you think was Honorine’s role in the novel? What about Guy Ansley? What role does Parker Drake play? Tina Drake? Monsieur Felix? Do these people symbolize anything apart from their everyday aspect?
6. The antique clock in the story has symbolic significance, but also plays an unexpected, practical role in solving the mystery. Discuss the various scenes in which the clock appears and influences the action.
7. Penny sometimes finds the tapestry perplexing, sometimes inspiring and comforting, sometimes ominous and gloomy. What tempers her response to it? Can you think of particular scenes that were “turning points” in her feeling for the tapestry?
8. Perfume is a powerful element in the novel. The flower fields in Grasse, the old perfume factory, the masked ball in Geneva, and the women on the yacht in Monte Carlo—these scenes all pivot around scent. What is the significance of fragrance in each of these turning points?
9. Trains from the past and the present are a recurring theme throughout the novel. Discuss the novel’s various journeys, departures, arrivals and destinations. How do they impact the ultimate resolution of the story?
10. There are many invitations in the novel. Is there any one that particularly stood out to you as the “charming” one?
11. Penny and Jeremy try to achieve a balance in their work and personal lives. Have you known couples who work together? What are the particular challenges, and what are the rewards?
12. In the weddings that you have seen and participated in, what conflicts arose? How did people resolve them? Did this affect the marriage afterwards?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Heartfelt thanks to my husband Ray, for your intelligence, insights, and irresistible humor. Special thanks to Margaret Atwood, my Good Witch of the North, for your warmth and encouragement all along the way. And to my knights-in-shining-armor: Michael Carlisle, for your intuitive wisdom and elegant wit; and David Forrer, for your smart, considerate advice and unshakeable good humor. Many thanks to all the other wonderful folks at Inkwell Management. A double
-thanks to the two Karas in my life: To Kara Cesare, because you’ve become so much more than an editor, you’re a true and cherished friend; and to Kara Welsh, for your faith in me and your ever- inspiring support. Thanks also to the great team at Penguin, especially Rachel Kahan, Claire Zion, Craig Burke, Catherine Milne, Jesse Feldman, and the many talented people in the art, sales, marketing, copy, promotion and production departments. I’d also like to express my appreciation to Peter Struck at University of Pennsylvania, for helping me get beyond my high-school Latin for this book. And to Vivik Kaylan for your generous design assistance. Special thanks to Ginger Barber for always being there when I needed advice. Fond thanks to Elizabeth Corradino, for your good counsel and loyal friendship. And finally, my warmest regards to all my readers around the world—I deeply appreciate your “lovely, curious, charming” letters, as we travel together from one adventure to the next!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.A. Belmond has published short fiction, poetry and humorous essays. She was awarded the Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship and was twice a Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award finalist. Belmond was a writer-in-residence at the Karolyi Foundation in the South of France, and her original screenplays were short-listed at Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute and the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. She has written, directed and produced television drama and documentary, and has taught writing at New York University. Her debut novel, A Rather Lovely Inheritance , launched the original story of Penny and Jeremy. The second book in the series is A Rather Curious Engagement. And now, the third and newest novel is A Rather Charming Invitation. For news of upcoming works and events, visit the author at her Web site, www.cabelmond.com.
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