Liberating Paris

Liberating Paris is a work of fiction written by Linda Bloodworth Thomason (sometimes rendered Bloodworth-Thomason). The hardcover was published in 2004 by William Morrow, with a paperback edition following in 2005. A comedy/drama about a year in the lives of a group of middle-aged friends in the small Arkansas town of Paris (Logan County), its plot centers around popular local resident Woodrow “Wood” McIlmore, a man undergoing a midlife crisis. In a sub-plot, the friends worry that their past will be lost if the opening of a new big box store called Fed-Mart destroys the downtown shops on Main Street. The opening line of the book sets the stage: “Imagine a town that hardly anyone has ever heard of. Yet everyone has seen one like it.”

The title reflects the historical event when Allied troops liberated Paris, France, freeing it from the Nazis in World War II. However, this book concerns the inner turmoil of presumably average small-town Arkansans. They must face a “new normal” and, one way or another, become “liberated” from their former lives. That transformation is set in motion by the upcoming marriage of Wood’s daughter to the son of his high school sweetheart who moved away after graduation. When the former girlfriend arrives back in town (much to the dismay of Wood’s wife), the friends feel they must choose sides. As the plot in Liberating Paris evolves, characters grapple with issues including artificial insemination, interracial romance, religious conservativism, and same-sex relationships. Bloodworth Thompson said in interviews that she wrote the book to show tolerance and intelligence among Southerners.

The actual Paris, Arkansas, is a town of about 3,200 people located northeast of Booneville (Logan County) and west of Subiaco (Logan County). It is set at the base of Mount Magazine, which is a popular tourist attraction, and sports a twenty-five-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower as a photo opportunity. Many of the buildings in the downtown commercial district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are in use as restaurants, antique shops, and other small businesses.

Bloodworth Thomason is originally from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, with no documented ties to Paris, Arkansas. She and her husband, Arkansan Harry Thomason, are known as the creators of the hit television show Designing Women, which ran from 1986 to 1993. They also created the television show Evening Shade, which ran from 1990 to 1994 and was set in the actual Arkansas town of Evening Shade (Sharp County). TV’s Evening Shade, like the novel Liberating Paris, depicted a group of colorful small-town characters. While they may be considered eccentric, the characters in both Liberating Paris and Evening Shade are presented as warm and positive, rather than as stereotypical hillbillies or rednecks. Like the main character in Liberating Paris, the leading role in TV’s Evening Shade, portrayed by actor Burt Reynolds, was also named Woodrow, nicknamed “Wood.”

Liberating Paris was written after the couple had spent a number of years away from Hollywood while advising President Bill Clinton, who was in the White House from 1993 to 2001. Reviews of the book were mixed. Promotional blurbs were provided by two well-known writers of Southern themes, Fannie Flagg (of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe fame) and Anne Rivers Siddons. Flagg wrote, “If you believe that all the sexy, interesting, and hip people live only in New York or LA, then you need to read this book….[Bloodworth Thomason’s] writing is passionate, intelligent, and witty, a winning combination that not only touches your heart, but just might change your mind.” Siddons wrote, “[Bloodworth Thomason’s] people are, like this hybrid South itself: cantankerous, vulnerable, deeply affecting, wonderfully funny, and totally unforgettable.”

However, Kirkus Reviews called the book “more script than novel,” with characters who seem like players in a TV show. In 2005, Variety reporter Michael Fleming wrote that the Bloodworth Thomason and her husband were adapting Liberating Paris into a feature film with actors Billy Bob Thornton and Dwight Yoakam attached, but the project did not materialize.

For additional information:
Bloodworth Thomason, Linda. Liberating Paris: A Novel. New York: William Morrow, 2004.

Fleming, Michael. “Thomasons Back in Biz with ‘Paris:’ Duo Find New Feature ‘Liberating.’” Variety, March 9, 2005. https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/thomasons-back-in-biz-with-paris-1117919174/ (accessed April 29, 2025).

“‘Liberating Paris’ by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason.” Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2004. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/linda-bloodworth-thomason-2/liberating-paris/ (accessed April 29, 2025).

“Liberating Paris—Linda Bloodworth Thomason.” Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780060596705 (accessed April 29, 2025).

“‘Liberating Paris’ Reading Guide.” HarperCollins Publishers. https://b0f646cfbd7462424f7a-f9758a43fb7c33cc8adda0fd36101899.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/reading-guides/RG-9780060596736.pdf (accessed April 29, 2025).

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society