French’s elegant prose shines despite some loose and drawn-out scenes.

Frederic Church (1826-1900) was one of America’s most significant and talented 19th-century artists. He was a prolific and successful painter whose life was so well documented that it would be easy to see him as a fixture of the well-worn and over-rehearsed art history books about the Hudson River School. Maybe. Then again, maybe not. […]

Whenever Elizabeth Peavey shows up for one of her book signings, she almost can’t resist the urge to help out in the kitchen. “After all my years of restaurant work to support my writing, I keep thinking I need to pick up a tray and start bussing glasses at these things,” she writes in an […]

Even before it opened, a fair amount of media hype surrounded Carmen at The Danforth. Understandably so. Puerto Rico native Carmen Gonzalez enjoys celebrity status, having been a finalist in season two of “Top Chef Masters,” and she soon will host a Spanish-language television show slated to air in 20 countries. Kimberly Swan, owner of […]

Art Biddeford Art Walk, downtown. biddefordartwalk.com. 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. Cushing Arts In The Barn, featuring photographer Louisa Scott Creighton-Smith, cushing mainehistoricalsociety.org, Cushing. 5 to 7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Fresh Art Show and Sale, Sprague Hall, Cape Elizabeth. 318-1049. Photography, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, woodwork, fiber art, sculpture and more, […]

BOSTON — I grew up just outside of Boston, and was lucky enough to have parents who took us without hesitation to all the key attractions in the city. We went to the New England Aquarium soon after it opened in 1969, and returned regularly thereafter. I’ve been to Old Ironsides more times than I […]