Mrs Harris Goes to Paris & Mrs Harris Goes to New York

By Paul Gallico

COMING IN 2022 - the feel-good classic will be a major film, starring Leslie Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs and Lucas Bravo

**Includes the additional novella Mrs Paris Goes to New York**

'Mrs Harris is one of the great creations of fiction - so real that you feel you know her, yet truly magical as well. I can never have enough of her' Justine Picardie

'It is almost impossible not to succumb to Gallico's spell' Times Literary Supplement

Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris.

When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781408813782

Paul Gallico

Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was a successful American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. He is perhaps best remembered for his short story, The Snow Goose and for the novel The Poseidon Adventure, which was made into a very famous film adaptation in 1972.

Reviews for Mrs Harris Goes to Paris & Mrs Harris Goes to New York

[greymowser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book a zillion years ago. Thanks to john seymour for bringing it back to my attention. Will have to hunt the book up.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this charming tale and the way Mrs. Harris went about in her normal way but began to change other people's lives. The story is an easy read but hard to put down. The plot has several twists and turns right up until the last page. I hope to read more by this author. It is a story that will speak to you for sure!

[cecilturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There really isn't much to say about this book other than: delightful! What a lovely way to get away from the hubbub and drudgery of every day life, to remind oneself of one's blessings, to take heart in the human spirit, courage and generosity. Yes, it's simplistic and cheesy and exaggerated. It's stereotypical and goofy and mushy. But isn't it great to simply escape? live out a dream? cheer on Mrs Harris and turn her into the most unlikely of heroines? doesn't she deserve it just like we wish we could all have that much stamina, faith and recognition? I think so.This book will not change my life, but it slapped on a smile that's likely to come back every time I think of it.

[briandrewz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sweet little book that reminds us what is important in life: people not things. Mrs. Ada Harris scrimps and saves to buy herself a Dior dress after seeing one in her employer's closet. In France, Mrs. 'Arris transforms the lives of the people she meets as she waits for her dress to be completed.A wonderful story that will have you smiling from ear to ear throughout.

[scampus_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first had to read this slim paperback in high school - it was required reading for English. I love it then, and I love it now. I don't really read it right through any more. It's one of those books I like to pick up, flick through and read my favourite bits: the Paris lovers, the damaged Dior dress, and so on. I may never read it right through again, despite the fact that, in my paperback version, it's only 117 pages long. But then, I don't have to read it all again, really.

[Darlene Adams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a heart warming tale of courage and tenacity. A pleasant read.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mrs. Harris is a widowed charwoman in London who one day sees a beautiful Dior dress in a wardrobe while she’s cleaning. The Dior dress becomes her one absorbing desire and she saves every pennie to buy one. And one day - of she goes to Paris for her dress. And her life will change forever through the people she meets and befriends. If you want to read a short, delightful, funny story this is it. It is so likable and entertaining you want to hug the main characters. And into the bargain: It’s in "1001 Books You Must Read Before you Die".

[eesti23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Luck, she felt, was something tangible that floated around in the air and sometimes settled on people in large chunks. Luck was something that could be felt, grabbed at, bitten off; luck could be all around one at one moment and vanish in the next.""Her jaw dropped, her chins folded into one another like the sections of a collapsible drinking cup."While I haven't seen the film yet, I have seen the preview, and it seemed very different to the storyline in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris [the book]. This short, but endearing story, told in (primarily) the third person, was a really enjoyable and uplifting read. I loved how Mrs. Harris yearned for something even though she new she would never use it and then made sure she got it.

[quondame · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I suppose this resourceful charwoman who makes (almost) everyone she interacts with better and helps them all, paean to a 50s myth of femininity is supposed to be charmingly uplifting instead of cynically manipulative. As one who loves a gorgeous gown I could only wish Mrs 'Arris got to keep hers.

[Margaret Viroga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a sweet story. I actually enjoyed the New York story more than the popular Paris one!

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A charming short novel. Mrs Harris is a London char, a woman who takes care of people's houses and flats. She falls in love with the idea of having for herself a Christian Dior dress, and everything becomes about achieving that aim. She is a perfectly innocent person - uneducated and misinformed but with a good heart and generous portions of what we would now call Emotional Intelligence. In a very basic sense, this is a children's book written for adults - but that does not stop one's enjoyment, and when Mrs Harris triumphs, and when the secondary characters achieve their own happiness, you will feel as glad as I did.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mrs. ‘arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico is a novella that was originally published in 1958. It definitely reflects 1950s values but it still charms the reader with the story of Ada Harris, a London charwoman who is enchanted by a couple of designer dresses that she sees at one of her employers. She then scrimps and saves over a number of years in order to take herself to Paris to buy an evening dress from the House of Dior. In true fairy tale fashion, Mrs. Harris both helps and, in turn, is aided by many of the people that she meets along the way from a French marquis, to some of the staff at Dior. Mrs. Harris is a woman who has lived a life of poverty, she supports herself by cleaning for a number of clients. Her world is quite narrow and this trip is the first time she has ever left England. While she is inexperienced in dealing with the larger world, she has an intuitive knowledge of people and she comports herself with dignity, secure in her knowledge of her “Englishness”.Mrs. ‘arris Goes to Paris is perhaps a touch too sweet, but it is also lively, light and humorous. An adult fairy tale with a poignant ending, this is a delightful book to relax into and escape to a gentler time.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of an older, widowed charwoman who becomes enamored of a Dior dress and determines to own one. She sees signs that this is what God wants for her when she wins the football lottery but it isn't enough and she must save and scrimp to get the money. Then the adventure starts. Ms Harris must travel to Paris to the dressmaker, she must get the right currency and she must get around among the notorious and not to be trusted French. Mrs Harris flies to Paris, manages to actually get a front row seat where she will be able to view the collection. While in Paris, Mrs Harris touches the lives of several people; Mme. Colbert, Natasha and M. André Fauvel. Mrs Harris learns that the French are just like other people, she enjoys a wonderful adventure. "For it had not been a dress she had bought so much as an adventure and an experience that would last her to the end of her days."
This is not a great literary creation but it is an enjoyable story with a moral that can be read in a sitting. The characters are all simple and the story itself is simple, sentimental and fun.

[fliss88_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Old fashioned story telling here in all it's simplicity. A widowed, London char-woman sets her heart on owning the thing of her dreams, a dress from the House of Dior! What she gets is the experience of a lifetime and manages to make new friends in unexpected places. If we could all be a little more guileless and treat everyone with kindness and appreciation, we might find a little more excitement and magic in our own lives.

[debnance_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Some spoilers)Mrs. Harris is a cleaning woman who sets her sights on a Dior dress, a dress that costs a year's wages, a dress she hasn't a place to wear, a dress that can only be obtained by traveling to Paris. Like a beautiful fairy tale, all her dreams come true. And don't. And do.You might find the Meaning of Life in this book. It's a new favorite.

[joclare · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this as a young girl from a Readers Digest Condensed book and loved it then; I recently found it again (as an unabridged novel) and it has lost none of it's charm. This book wins on many levels, but don't be looking for a lengthy, in depth read, it's just a handful of a story at 156 pages. Saying that, it's appeal is broad, we all have something we desire, sometimes without a single good reason why, we just need to have it. For Mrs. 'Arris, that something is a Christian Dior gown, an item that costs a years salary, and she means to have it! This is a great "feel-good" tale, safe reading for even young girls, and will impart values that we all can get behind, highly recommended.

[chrisethier · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Predictable but nice.

[getrus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris is possibly the sweetest book I have read in the last couple of years. I absolutely adored it.Mrs. Harris is a char woman in London and gets it into her head that she wants a Dior dress after seeing one in the closet of one of the homes she cleans. She scrimps and saves her money so she can be able to buy it. When she finally does get the money she flies to Paris and the House of Dior. It is here where the real story starts.The people she comes in contact with and how their lives change because of her is amazing and made me happy to be reading such a loving story.Mrs. ‘Arris is a sweet old lady and I think that if I ever met her (and I probably do know a couple of old ladies who are like her in many ways) we would be good friends. Anyone looking for something to bring up their day or for something short and sweet this book is definitely for you.

[readingwithtea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"To the gallant and indispensable daily ladies who, year in, year out, tidy up the British Isles, this book is lovingly dedicated"I'm not much of a novella reader (although maybe I should change that, because I have very much enjoyed my few experiences thus far), but Flowers for Mrs Harris posed a perfect lunchtime read for the first day of my holiday.Mrs Harris (or 'Arris, as she would pronounce it) is a London charwoman who, upon spying two Dior gowns in the wardrobe of one of her clients, finds herself struck down by the desire to own one herself. She scrimps and saves and gets herself to Paris and to the door of Christian Dior. Her mission to own the dress gets her into no end of trouble once she gets there.This is a very sweet little novella, with just enough seriousness to stop it being twee. The issues with customs, accommodation, lack of French, imperious shop staff and other customers threaten to strike down Mrs Harris' dreams - but she will not be denied. The ending is somehow awful and wonderful and perplexing all at once - as one blogger said - "the very thing that the word “bittersweet” was created to describe".Mrs Harris is a wonderful character, and I am looking forward to reading more about her in the other 3 books in the series. She is hard-working, honest (while she might fib, she would never tell a lie) and can't help but see the best in people. In such a simple story, about how dreams can come true, she is refreshingly down to earth (I loved the episode where she rides roughshod over French elegance and manners and convinces two people to act on their hearts' desire rather than be constrained by The Rules)."The one and only time that Mrs Harris had ever faced the camera lens was upon the occasion of her wedding to Mr Harris and then she had the stout arm of that stout plumber to support her during the ordeal.""Two of Mrs Butterfield's chins quivered at the impact of this revelation.""Mrs Harris felt as eager and excited as a child and mentally apostrophized herself"A delicious romp through Sixties Paris through the eyes of a most unconventional narrator.