The House I Loved was a charming and sad little novel about Paris in the late 1860s. Napoleon is Emperor of France and has decided that the city of Paris must be modernized to reflect his vision of the future and the glory of his reign. Although this decision does create the City of Lights that is known today, it is not an entirely popular decision for the denizens of Paris who love their city, its parks and their homes on its narrow little streets exactly as they are and have been for centuries. Rose Balzalet is one such citizen. The area where she has always lived is scheduled to be razed. The beloved home that has been in her late husband's family forever and holds the memories of their love, her beloved mother-in-law, the birth of her daughter and son, and the loss of her son at age ten all live in the walls of her home on rue Childebert. Her neighbors are accepting the change and her best friends, the florist whose shop is on the first floor of Rose's large home and the bookseller who befriended her after her husband's death, know that they must all accept the inevitable. They will all move to other areas and star their lives again. Rose is supposed to go to live with her daughter, even though they are not terribly close. But Rose doesn't want to leave. Out of loyalty to the man and family she loved and to preserve her memories, Rose will fight to stay in her home until the bitter end.