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FUN FACT: Zélie's favourite sport, kick-boxing, has only just been approved as an Olympic sport! It will be competed for the first time in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Sewer sweepers like Jules and his father had tough lives. Here are some, taking a lunch-time break...
FUN FACT: the first Paris Olympics took place in 1900, in the same period of the book (the Belle Epoque). This was the Olympics where women competed for the first time.
Secrets of the Snakestone is set in Paris in the year 1895. It's a period of French history called the "Belle Epoque" and was famous for the rollicking can-can dance and the Moulin Rouge, but also a harsh time for servants and those on the "wrong side of the tracks".
Click on the button to find school resources to use with the book:
In 1895, the famous cathedral of the Sacré-Coeur was only half-built!
Miss La-La was a real-life circus performer, famous for her "iron jaw" act. She was painted by artist Edgar Degas, a portrait which hangs in London's National Gallery today.
Montmartre, the part of Paris where Rue Morgue is situated, has changed little since Zélie's time. It's still on a steep hill, criss-crossed with staircases....
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