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Industrial Revolution
(Western Europe) This time period was a transition times from medival tiomes to the modern world. The French government decided to rebuilt the city of Paris. This was an important event inspired de Rosnay to write the story The House I Loved.
"Born and bred a Parisian, I love my city like most Parisians do. I have always been fascinated by its richness and history. Napoleon III and Baron Hausmann, between 1852 and 1870, gave Paris a new and much-needed modernity." (The House I Loved, 5) -
French Revolution
This event led to the Bonaparte Dynasty to rise to power. In the book the House I Loved, de Rosnay writes about this events and how they affected the lifes of the main characters. "From our small street, we could hear the growing grumble of insurrection. It started with shouts and cries, and the clatter of hooves. You were told by panic-striking neighbors that the royal family had fled" (The House I Loved, 170) -
Bonaparte Dynasty
(France) After the French Revolution, The Bonaparte family placed themselves on top in France. After conquering much land of Europe it gave the superiority and this led them to rebuild france into a modern city. -
Hausmann Restorationof France
The novel The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay took place during this time period. Although it is not an important historical event in France, de Rosnay decided to write a story based on it.
"The Prefect and the Emperor had imaged a clean and modern town, with proper sewers and public lightning, and germ free water" (The House I Loved, 61). -
Fall of the Second French Empire
After the Second French Empire fell and the Republic of France, the renovation of France dimished and most of the work stopped. In the novel the House I loved, Rose the main character wanted all the embellishments to stop because she like her medivial france, but the work stopped a few years later after her death. -
Russian Revolution
(Russia) Natacha, de Rosnay grandmother inspired her to write about Sarah's Key. According to an interview de Rosnay said: The book is dedicated to three women in my life, my Russian grandmother Natacha, who fled the Russian Revolution. (How Tatiana de Rosnay Turned French History Into ‘Sarah’s Key’, Paragraph 8) -
World War II
(Europe) The Nazis set up concentration camps all over Europe, after they took over other countries they began to round up the Jews and exterminate them in this camps. Over 6 million Jews did because of World War II. This event led to the Holocaust. -
Invasion of France
(France) "Those events that occurred in Occupied France during summer of 1942, and in particular the great Veldrome d'Hiver roundup, which took place on July 16, 1942, in the heart of Paris." (Sarah's Key, Author's Note) Since French policemen were following orders from the Germans, they rounded up thousands of Jews.Tatiana de Rosnay stresses the participations of the French in the event throughout the book Sarah's Key. -
Vel'd'Hiv Roundup
(France) Sarah's Key is based on this event. Thousand of Jews that lived in Paris were kept in this stadium and then sent to the concentration camps. -
Tatiana de Rosnay was born
(France) My father is French,and my mother is British. I was born in France, and
raised in the USA I then went to
high school in Paris, and then on to college in England. I now live in Paris with my husband
and children. ( Mother Daughter Bookclub Interview) Since de Rosnay was born to parents from different backgrounds it was easier to write about the French police involment in the Vel'd'Hiv Roundup, de Rosnay was able to write about them in such a profound way. -
Moving to Boston, USA
Tatiana was raised in Paris and then in Boston, when her father taught at MIT in the 70’s. She moved to England in the early 80’s and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich (Tatiana de Rosnay's Bio). Since she Tatiana was raised in different countries she is able to connect with different types of people, in her case she thinks like a French woman and an American Woman. -
Tatiana de Rosnay Moves to Paris
Both Sarah's Key and The House I Loved take place in Paris. Paris is described throughout the whole book, the fact that de Rosnay moved back to Paris and loves her city made her incorporate it into her novels.
"Born and bred a Parisian, I love my city like most Parisians do. I have always been fascinated by its richness and history" ( The House I loved, 5) -
Tatiana de Rosnay's daughter was born
She inspired de Rosnay to create the character of Sarah Starzynski. In an interview she said: Yes beautiful, rebellious Charlotte.” When I wrote this book 10 years ago she was 10. And yes, she was my model for Sarah. Sarah is a little girl who acts with her heart and tries to do what’s best. Charlotte is like that. (How Tatiana De Rosnay Turned French History Into Sarah's Key, Paragraph 8) -
Tatiana gets married
Most of de Rosnay's novels are about a flawed men or women that change throughout the book. After her marriage she began to write stories about this, this means that she was inspired by her relationshipt to write about love. "I felt such a lucky man. A lucky man to be loved by you (The House I Loved, 112) This quote is one of the many quotes that deal with love that can be found in de Rosnay's work. -
Jacques Chirac Gives Speech
(France) In 1995, as Klarsfeld notes, then-President Jacques Chirac gave a historical speech that sought to atone for the nation's dark past. Chirac broke with the traditional French depiction of wartime events by accepting, in the name of France, responsibility for the July 15-16, 1942 arrests of 13,000 Jews by French police. Known as the "Vel d'Hiv roundup". de Rosnay first heard the French government admit their responsibility in the roundup when President Jacques Chirac gave his speech. -
Tatiana's Visit to the Minister of the Interior
(France) When Tatiana was writing a novel about a woman that commited a crime, she was on rue Netalon in France. When she passed by this building she noticed a plaque that talked about the French police involment in the Vel'd'Hiv Roundup. She decided to research this event more throughly. Source: Dodes, Rachel. "How Tatiana De Rosnay Turned French History Into âSarahâs Keyâ." WSJ.com. 14 July 2011. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/07/14/tatiana-de-rosnay-turned-fren
