Sophie Marceau bridges celebrity and serious literary ambition

For an actress who has been famous since her teens and a household name across continents, publishing a book is the easy part. Selling it, after all, is rarely in doubt. Becoming a writer of substance, however, is another matter. Sophie Marceau appears determined to prove that the two need not be mutually exclusive.

Late last month, Marceau arrived at the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, where magnolia blossoms were in full bloom, to introduce the Chinese edition of her latest book, La Souterraine. Seventeen years separate her debut work from this new collection, which features 13 short stories and 7 poems.