Chronicles of Old Paris: Exploring the Historic City of Light by John Baxter (2011)
Whenever I have been asked for an accessible book about the history of Paris this is what I would first recommend. Written with verve and economy, each chapter describes a pivotal moment in Parisian history.
Full of juicy anecdotes, it energetically guides you through his highlights of Parisian culture, from Abelard and Heloise to Napoleon to Josephine Baker. One unforgettable chapter is about the siege of Paris and the night starving Parisians ate an elephant.
All of John Baxter’s books are love letters to Paris and his life here, but this one in particular illustrates the richness of Parisian culture and what makes its history so beguiling.
Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne (2002)
For anyone who wishes to delve more deeply into Parisian history, I recommend this excellent work of serious yet accessible history. Each of the seven ages stands alone so you could read first about the modern city, and then move backwards. Or only read about the early medieval city and ignore the Hundred Years War.
To go deeper, Alistair Horne’s other books about the Commune, Verdun and the Fall of France in 1940 are essential for understanding how the modern country and the modern republic was forged in the embers of 3 monumental wars with Germany.
How Paris Became Paris: the Invention of the Modern City by Joan deJean (2015)
For anyone convinced that Baron Haussmann was the first to redesign Paris in the middle of the 19th century ought to read this lively history of the reconstruction of Paris two hundred and fifty years earlier.
Following the devastating wars of religion, Henri IV put good money and energy into rebuilding the city he had finally captured after so much bloodshed. The medieval city with it’s muddy streets, it’s built up bridges and flooded river banks made way to paved roads, Place des Vosges and the iconic Pont Neuf. So much of what we consider Parisian – city walking, fashion, street life – was made possible as the city was modernised in a few dizzying decades.
Lost King Of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury (2003)
Focusing on the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Deborah Cadbury describes the complex history of the Revolution through the eyes a terrified little boy.
His circumstances rapidly change as the Revolution unfolds and the Terror grips the nation. One by one, members of his family are removed from the prison rooms they occupy and are executed. He is soon isolated and dies in prison, neglected and tortured.
Over the course of the 19th century several young men come forward claiming to have escaped and to be the lost young king. Some of them develop huge followings and some are recognised by members of the former royal household. Successive government in France considers all them to be dangerous pretenders.
Interwoven with this story, is the peregrinations of the heart removed from the body of the little boy who died in prison. How it was preserved and survived the upheavals of the 19th century, and then was used to verify the identity of the boy who died in 1795, makes this is one of the most gripping books about the French Revolution and the French 19th Century.
