ROSPER ASSOULINE IS impatient for a return to normality. Normality, that is, of a very French and rarefied type, for the 64-year-old luxury-book publisher really embodies the brand that bears his name. Founded with his wife, Martine, in 1994, Assouline issues jewel-hued, fat-paged tomes that express the couple’s devotion to all things nonpareil. Beginning with a homage to their favourite hotel on the Cote d’Azur, Assouline has since published more than 2,000 monographs on topics including panama hats,
