Paris, 1830-1880 : plongez dans les coulisses du monde littéraire et politique à travers les yeux d’Arsène Houssaye, complice et témoin privilégié d’Alexandre Dumas.

Paris, 1830-1880 : plongez dans les coulisses du monde littéraire et politique à travers les yeux d’Arsène Houssaye, complice et témoin privilégié d’Alexandre Dumas.

Paris, 1830-1880 : plongez dans les coulisses du monde littéraire et artistique à travers les yeux d’Arsène Houssaye, complice et témoin privilégié d’Alexandre Dumas.

Derrière les coulisses du Paris littéraire du XIXe siècle, Les Confessions révèlent les secrets, les intrigues et les rencontres qui ont marqué l’époque.

Paris, 1830-1880 : plongez dans les coulisses du monde littéraire et politique à travers les yeux d’Arsène Houssaye, complice et témoin privilégié d’Alexandre Dumas.

An intensely personal account of the immigration experience as related by a young Jewish girl from Plotzk . Mary Antin, with her mother, sisters, and brother, set out from Plotzk in 1894 to join their father, who had journeyed to the "Promised Land" of America three years before. Fourth class railroad cars packed to suffocation, corrupt crossing guards, luggage and persons crudely "disinfected" by German officials who feared the cholera, locked "quarantine" portside, and, finally, the steamer voyage and a family reunited. For anyone who has ever wondered what it was like for their grandparents or great grandparents to emigrate from Europe to the United States last century, this is a fascinating narrative. Mary Antin went on to become an immigration rights activist. She also wrote an autobiography, The Promised Land, published in 1912, which detailed her assimilation into American culture.

In this extended essay, Mary Antin asks us to consider three questions: First: A question of principle: Have we any right to regulate immigration? Second: A question of fact: What is the nature of our present immigration? Third: A question of interpretation: Is immigration good for us? In doing so, she asks us to step back from the usual discussion around immigration, which tends to focus on practical matters, and consider the underlying principles involved. What do we owe our fellow humans and what is our national mission as Americans?