Artist and writer, Jacqueline Cooper was born in Alexandria Egypt. Both her parents
were Egyptian.
She has authored two humorous books on Alexandria, the city on the Mediterranean where she
grew up. Those were Cocktails and Camels in 1960 and Tales from Alexandria in 1994. In those two novels, anecdotes
and auto-biographical recollections depict scenes of the author's childhood
and youth in the city of her birth. In Tales from Alexandria.
, she draws a vivid portrait of Alexandria in its golden age, when it was more
than, as the author describes it, " a nice friendly little town basking in the
sunshine and the cool Mediterranean breeze".
She has also written two picture books for children: Cat Day
and Toby and the Escalade both are bilingual ( in English and
French) and brilliantly illustrated by the writer herself.
Cooper spent thirty years in Washington D.C. before moving to Geneva in 1990 to be near
family. It was in Washington that she suddenly decided to revive her artistic skills. She
has had some forty exhibits in the area and her watercolor/ ink paintings appeared on
postcards at the museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and on Unicef calendars.
Her short stories have been broadcast on the BBC World Service, and published in the
Christian Science Monitor, The Courier, and Offshoots. She has also been a Consultant
writer-editor with the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.
Cooper is a member of International PEN and The Society of Women Writers
and Journalists (UK).
The Society of Women Writers and Journalists contributed the reviews for her picture
books.
A selection of her works are :
Cocktails and Camels a novel published in 1960 in
New York
A witty semi-autobiography of her youth in Alexandria.
Tales From Alexandria a novel
published in Geneva in 1994
Angus and the Mona Lisa a
lively children's picture book published in New York
Cat Day bilingual picture book published in Geneva.
At the same time as reading about how the Cat Day organised by Geneva's international cat
population is almost sabotaged by the city's dogs, children also learn indirectly a little
about continental life and the city of Geneva. The author's watercolor illustrations are
both enchanting and informative.
Toby and the Escalade bilingual picture book published in
Geneva.
The book, aided by Jacqueline's brilliant illustrations, tells the
story of Toby, a homesick American boy, recently arrived in Geneva, with cat Cherry.
The story follows Geneva's historical event when the Duke of Savoy attempted to
capture the city, but Mere Royaume is alleged to have flung her marmite(pot) of boiling
vegetable soup on the enemy soldiers scaling the walls with ladders. Every December, to
the sound of fifes and drums and the firing of muskets, Genevans, dressed in 17th century
costumes, are served with soup.
A word from the author:
This little book is not intended to be a factual account of
that historic night in December 1602 when the Duke of Savoy tried to capture Geneva.
However, a cannon was indeed fired from boulevard de L'Oie, and there is a secret passage.
It is le passage de Monetier which is open only during the Escalade celebrations.
WilliamTell
/Guillaume Tell bilingual picture book published in 1999
Kevin And The Escalade
Race bilingual picture book fall of 2001