To Capture What We Cannot Keep: A Novel

"It's sexy escapism, but the book's real selling point is its illumination of 19th-century Paris and that phenomenal landmark." —People (Book of the Week)

In February 1887, Caitriona Wallace and Émile Nouguier meet in a hot air balloon, floating high above Paris, France—a moment of pure possibility. But back on firm ground, their vastly different social strata become clear. Cait is a widow who because of her precarious financial situation is forced to chaperone two wealthy Scottish charges. Émile is expected to take on the bourgeois stability of his family's business and choose a suitable wife. As the Eiffel Tower rises, a marvel of steel and air and light, the subject of extreme controversy and a symbol of the future, Cait and Émile must decide what their love is worth.

Seamlessly weaving historical detail and vivid invention, Beatrice Colin evokes the revolutionary time in which Cait and Émile live—one of corsets and secret trysts, duels and Bohemian independence, strict tradition and Impressionist experimentation. To Capture What We Cannot Keep, stylish, provocative, and shimmering, raises probing questions about a woman's place in that world, the overarching reach of class distinctions, and the sacrifices love requires of us all.

"Transportive . . . You'll instantly be wrapped up in this novel's vibrant world." —Bustle

"A compelling story of love constricted by the demands of separate social classes . . . A captivating read." —Kate Alcott, New York Times–bestselling author

"This exquisitely written, shadowy historical novel will appeal to a wide variety of readers, including fans of the Belle Époque." —Library Journal (starred review)

© 2024 Flatiron Books (Ebook): 9781250071460

Release date

Ebook: March 26, 2024