Chapter One: The Way Over Summary and Analysis

By the 1930s, there was a wave of young and talented Americans who had at least temporarily transplanted themselves in Paris. Their hopes were high and they were ambitious and eager to learn and sharpen their skills and abilities. Among them was the writer James Fenimore Cooper who was an accomplished author, famous for his most successful work, The Last of the Mohicans. Emma Hart Willard, a widow in her late forties, was the headmistress at a private school and had written several text books. A number of noted physicians, Wendell Holmes among them, also made the journey to Paris. Charles Sumner left his law practice to join the wave. American painters George Healy and Samuel Morse left America for what they viewed as the promised land for artists.

The Americans sailed for...