Now in paperback, The Philosopher's Kiss tells the passionate love story between Sophie, a girl from the French countryside, and Denis Diderot, the famed philosopher behind the creation of the first encyclopedia. Internationally bestselling author Peter Prange makes his US debut with a luminous historical novel. Truth. Betrayal. Revolution. Love. ENLIGHTENMENT. PARIS, 1747. Betrayed by God and humanity, eighteen-year-old Sophie moves to the seething French capital and finds work as a serving girl at Cafe Procope. Here, against her will, she falls deeply in love with Denis Diderot, the famed philosopher and a married man. He and his colleagues are planning the most dangerous book in the world since the Bible: an encyclopedia. Even more scandalous are references concealed within that threaten to undermine both the monarchy and the church. But Sophie soon realizes that even her own rights to freedom, love, and happiness are at risk. Prange powerfully recreates a fascinating era in this spirited story of passion, censorship, self-expression, and rebellion.

Conventionally, a Grand Tour leads from somewhere north of the Alps to the historical sights of Italy. In the case of Emel'jan Michailovich Korneev (1780-1843), the journey began in St. Petersburg, took him through Siberia to the border with Mongolia and eventually to Crimea, from where he traveled onward to Greece and Asia Minor. His trip concluded with the classic tour through Italy. Years later, he even circumnavigated the globe as an expedition illustrator on board a Russian ship. The premiere presentation of the drawings from E.M. Korneev's journey through Italy at Munich's Stadtmuseum is an apt occasion to familiarize a broader public outside Russia with the output of this fascinating artistic figure for the first time.