Read more
From the reality of the city's café culture and its literary luminaries, to some of its more curious landmarks, obscure events and unusual inhabitants, this will give the first-time visitor a vivid impression of the city and offer seasoned travellers a new vision of the city they love. The people, the quirks, peculiarities, charms and eccentricities; the history and secrets. Welcome to the untold Paris.
List of contents
Introduction
ART AND CULTURE
Caf.s and Literature
Buskers, Beggars and Mimes
Jean-Luc Godard and La Nouvelle Vague
Art Nouveau
The Op.ra and Its Phantom
No Direction Home
Art in the Air
Hot or Not?
Surrealism
Death and Resurrection
The 1962 Malraux Law
Eiffel and His Monument
Belgian Blocks and Haussmann Cobbles
FOOD AND DRINK
Snails
The Ortolan
The Art of French Pastry
The Rise of Le Cocktail
Bread and History
Who Invented Chocolate?
The Yearly Race
Waiters and Waiting
HISTORY
The History of Bastille Day
Duelling and Duellists
The 1871 Commune
Domestic Labour and La Femme de M.nage
The 1924 Olympics
Raymond and Isadora Duncan
The Teller or the Tale?
The German Occupation
1968 and Its Evenements
Brits and Royals in Paris
IN THE SHADOWS
Opium
The Pissoir and Dames Pipis
The Secret Citizens
Crime in Post-War Paris
Some Murderers
The Girl in the Champagne Bath
Exploring Paris After Dark
WAYS OF LIFE
Parisians and Their Pools
The French and Funerals
The Fight for Metrication
To Tip or Not to Tip?
Going, Going, Gone…
Roland Garros and the Red Game
Learning to Love the M.tro
The French and Naturism
The French Game
French vs English
Dogs, and What They Leave Behind
Index
About the author
About the author
John Baxter was born in Australia but has lived in Paris for the past 30 years. He has published biographies of Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas and Robert De Niro, as well many books about life in France, including the classic The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris and the award-winning The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France. When not writing, John leads literary walking tours of Paris.
Summary
Untold Paris is a unique illustrated guide to Paris – its people, quirks, peculiarities, charms and eccentricities, as well as its history and some of its many secrets.
