Best books on Paris history
 

We will be spending 10 days in Paris this June. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for books to read to that gives a good overview of Paris history? My 17 yo wants to do some 'research' before we go. It might be helpful if it was presented in a historical fiction genre. Am I asking too much?

Thanks for any help!

There's a series called 'A Traveller's History of....'. They provide a good overview of the history of a country or city, without getting too detailed. I've ready the Paris one, and it was good. You can probably find it at your city library.

Can't think of any historical fiction, but I'm sure there's something out there.

A Traveller's History of Paris (of France is also available) by Robert Cole is available at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&tag=...eld-keywords=A traveller's hisotry of Paris&

I highly recommend it.

Here's some links to book suggestions on this forum.

For historical fiction try Abundance by Sena Jetta Naslund - about Marie Antoinette. Some classic authors are Victor Hugo, Balzac, Zola.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-france.cfm?20

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...--paris.cfm?60

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-paris.cfm?48

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...f-paris.cfm?14

The Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne.

"Paris: Capital of the World" by Patrice Higgonet (Professor of French History, Harvard). It's very densely and eruditely written, but if you are of that mind, there is an enormous amount there on history from the mid-18th century to WW II.

One of my favorite books is "Is Paris Burning?" --- the true story of Paris at the very end of WWII and the German official who refused to obey Hitler's orders to blow up Paris. It is very readable and brings some of the areas very much to life.

Be sure to take your son to see the Paristoric movie while you're there, preferably at the beginning of the trip.

Agree that Paris Story (formerly Paristoric) is an excellent multi-media presentation.

http://www.paris-story.com/spip.php?article5

It's good to see this early during your visit, to help finalize your priorities for seeing and doing. But, don't go the day of arrival after an overnight flight - the music will put you to sleep!

"Around and About Paris" (3 volumes, history by arrondissements), author Thirza Vallois. Very interesting.
Amazon.com carries them...

http://www.thirzavallois.com/

We were given a book by a friend when we got back from our Paris trip last year (wish we had seen it before the trip) simply called "Paris" by Madelaine Mautord. It's a combination of text and photos/drawings of extraordinary quality that traces Paris' history from ancient to modern times.
Published in 2008 by Chartwell Boooks, Inc.

I too am a fan of the Traveller's History series. Not too dense. "The Seven Ages of Paris" is really interesting if you're real interested in Paris. Not sure it would facinate a 17 year old but I could be wrong. I don't know if your 17 yr old is interested in cooking but a new book in paperback called "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry" is a fun read about the author's study at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. There are also great recipes at the end of every chapter.

Here's another vote for Horne's "Seven Ages of Paris" - well written and informative. I enjoyed Edmund White's "The Flaneur", which is a relatively quick read. I think that DK Eyewitness Travel Guides (Paris) is very enjoyable as both guidebook and historical overview with wonderful photos, too. EJ ((#))