Paris, 7 a.m. is a fictionalized account of American poet Elizabeth Bishop's travels in France in 1937. Until reading this novel by Liza Wieland, I had never heard of Elizabeth Bishop and I had to do some investigating afterwards. Bishop was born in Nova Scotia in 1911; her father died before her first birthday and her mother was institutionalized a few years later. Her years at Vassar were formative and Liza Wieland's novel, Paris 7 a.m., begins with Elizabeth's time at Vassar. The bulk of the novel is devoted to the year 1937, the only year for which Elizabeth did not keep a diary. Elizabeth and her college roommates explore Paris, venture to the French countryside, and dabble in artistic and political circles. The protective environment of Vassar is gone and the changing political tide of WWII looms large.
I had trouble really getting into this novel. Wieland's prose is impressionistic and atmospheric. What Elizabeth can and chooses to divulge about her time in France, her relationships, and a secret errand are nuanced.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-bishop
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