Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
*original first published in 1958
Author: Paul Gallico
Translator: Tatsuki Kameyama
Illustration: Toshiko Ueda
I picked up this book when I was in kindergarten. There were too many words to read for me, so I just flipped through it and looked at the pictures. It was one of those books that I treated like a picture book.
I also remember Kodansha’s owl logo well.
Mrs. Harris is a housekeeper in London, a firm, widowed woman, and struggling to make ends meet on her own. She is longing for a Dior dress.
The friendship between Mrs. ‘Arris and Mrs. Butterfield is also very good.
The illustrations are by Toshiko Ueda, and looking at them now, I think they are pop, Western-style illustrations.
Smiling, dynamic, and full of bright energy, Toshiko Ueda’s depiction of Mrs. Harris is my image of Mrs. Harris.
It’s a very charming book that talks about what’s truly important in life.
Straightforward courage and cheerfulness. That’s how magic happens.
This is the first time I learned that the book was written by Paul Gallico.
He seems to be a natural storyteller, and according to Wikipedia, he said:
“I’m a rotten novelist. I’m not even literary. I just like to tell stories and all my books tell stories…. If I had lived 2,000 years ago I’d be going around to caves, and I’d say, ‘Can I come in? I’m hungry. I’d like some supper. In exchange, I’ll tell you a story. Once upon a time there were two apes.’ And I’d tell them a story about two cavemen.”
(Finish reading: July27,2025)
