My First Years as a Frenchwoman, 1876-1879

A personal memoir recounts the author's early years in Paris as the spouse of a senior public official, offering eyewitness sketches of parliamentary sessions, ministerial life, and diplomatic society. It alternates intimate domestic detail—receptions, breakfasts, and household rhythms—with accounts of political crises, an abrupt cabinet dismissal, international gatherings, and the Exposition season. The narrative explores the social duties attached to office, encounters with prominent visitors, and the interplay between public responsibilities and private life, closing with reflections on leaving the foreign office and returning to quieter domestic ground.