Paris

The Paris Bookseller is set in Paris between the first and second World Wars. The European capitol is the setting for the modernist literary movement, and provides a haven for artists to congregate and produce their art. The Parisienne culture is sexually open, artistically experimental, and challenges social norms. While censorship laws and conservative ideologies are rampant in the United States, Paris does not conform to the same prudish views of sex, the body, and artistic expression.

Shakespeare and Company

Sylvia Beach’s shop, Shakespeare and Company, is the first English literature bookstore in Paris. She creates the bookstore to form a safe space for artists and expatriates to commune. As the novel progresses, Sylvia uses Shakespeare and Company to publish James Joyce’s controversial novel, Ulysses. The bookstore facilitates the distribution of the provocative text and challenges the conservative censorship laws that seek to suppress the novel...