The Streets of Paris: A Guide to the City of Light Following in the Footsteps of Famous Parisians Throughout History

by Susan Cahill, Marion Ranoux (Photographer)

Overview

From the author of Hidden Gardens of Paris, The Streets of Paris is Susan Cahill's wonderfully unique guide to present-day Paris following in the footsteps of famous Parisians through the last 800 years.

For hundreds of years, the City of Light has set the stage for larger-than-life characters—from medieval lovers Héloïse and Abelard to the defiant King Henri IV to the brilliant scientist Madame Curie, beloved chanteuse Edith Piaf, and the writer Colette. In this beautifully illustrated book, Susan Cahill recounts the lives of twenty-two famous Parisians and then takes you through the seductive streets of Paris to the quartiers where they lived and worked: their homes, the scenes of their greatest triumphs and tragedies, their favorite cafes, bars, and restaurants, and the off-the-beaten-track places where they found inspiration and love.

From Sainte-Chapelle on the Ile de la Cite to the cemetery Pere Lachaise to Montmartre and the Marais, Cahill not only brings to life the bold characters of a tumultuous history and the arts of painting, music, sculpture, film, and literature, she takes you on a relaxed walking tour in the footsteps of these celebrated Parisians.

Each chapter opens with a beautiful four-color illustration by photographer Marion Ranoux, and every tour begins with a Metro stop and ends with a list of "Nearbys"—points of interest along the way, including cafes, gardens, squares, museums, bookstores, churches, and, of course, patisseries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250074324
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,033,344
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

SUSAN CAHILL has published several travel books on France, Italy, and Ireland, including Hidden Gardens of Paris and The Streets of Paris. She is the editor of the bestselling Women and Fiction series and author of the novel Earth Angels. She spends a few months in Paris every year.

MARION RANOUX, a native Parisienne, is an experienced freelance photographer and translator into French of Czech literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Île De La Cité

The Scandalous Love of Héloise and Abelard: 9-11, Quai aux Fleurs, Notre-Dame Cathedral Close 3

Louis IX and the Dark Side of Sainthood: 8, boulevard du Palais, Sainte-Chapelle 17

Olymph De Gouges: Robespierre's Victim: 2, boulevard du Palais, Conciergerie 27

Henri IV'S Beautiful City: Pont Neuf: Place Dauphine; Louvre; Square du Vert Galant; place des Vosges 37

Île Saint-Louis

Honoré Daumier's Human Comedy: 9, Quai d'Anjou: Along the North Bank of Île Saint-Louis 51

The Left Bank

The Latin Quarter

Going Sane With Michel De Montaigne: Rue des Écoles, Statue: Square Paul-Painlevé; Collège de France; Louvre; Latin Quarter 63

The Lonely Passion of Marie Curie: 10, Place du Panthéon, Bibliothèque Sainte-Genevieve 77

Simone Weil: Soul on Fire: 23, rueClovis,Lycée HenriIV 91

Benghabrit, Jews, and the Gestapo: 2, Place du Puits-de-l'Ermite, Grand Mosque of Paris 105

Saint-Germain-Des-Prés

Voltaire: Dying Intact: 13, rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, Le Procope, 27, Quai Voltaire: Le Voltaire Café 115

Albert Camus: Conscience of His Generation: Place Saint-Sulpice, Café de la Mairie 129

Montparnasse and Southern Paris

Jean Moulin: Hero of the Resistance: 26, rue des Plantes, Hideaway 143

Alberto Giacometti: What You See is What There Is: 46, rue Hippolyte-Maindron, Studio 153

Western Paris

Francis Poulenc's Soul Music: 11, Place des États-Unis, Musée Baccarat 165

The Right Bank

Champs-Élysées and Environs

Colette: Her Garden of Love: 9, rue de Beaujolais, Palais Royal 179

Northern Paris and Montmartre

Frédéric Chopin's Fallen Angel: 16, rue Chaptal, Musée de la Vie Romantique, 80 rue Taithout, Square d'Orléans 191

Raising Hell in Pigalle: François Truffaut's the 400 Blows: 33, rue de Navarin, and the Streets of the Ninth Arrondissement 203

Patrick Modiano's Missing Persons: Rue Berthe and Place Émile-Goudeau, La Butte Montmartre 215

The Marais

Rhine Margot: Legends and Lies: 1, rue du Figuier, Bibliothèque Forney, Hôtel de Sens 229

Ninon De L'Enclos: Voltaire's First Courtesan: 34, rue des Toumelles, Hôtel de Sagonne 243

Around Bastille and Northeastern Paris

"Permission to Die, Mother?'": Sister Constance and the Dialogues of the Carmelites: Place de la Nation: 35, rue de Picpus, Picpus Cemetery: The Walled Garden of Memory 253

Édith Piaf: The Little Sparrow: 72, rue de Belleville, The Hills of Belleville, Ménilmontant, and Rue Oberkampf 265

Acknowledgments and Thanks to 277

Sources 279

Index 285

Editorial Reviews

Susan Cahill guides us to places and neighborhoods where celebrated, creative Parisians lived from the twelfth century (Héloise and Abelard) to the twentieth (Edith Piaf). Witty,colorful and always enlightening, The Streets of Paris is essential, whether you're visiting for the first or fiftieth time.” —Donald Spoto, bestselling author of TheRedgraves: A Family Epic

"This is elegantly written book is absolutely essential reading for all travelers bound for Paris and anyone who loves the city, because it's a history of the city that renders the city's streets as historically vivid as they are beautiful. It's a lovely read, too, because it's history at its best, or as a series of intriguing, well-crafted and authoritative anecdotes that are a delight to read and will stay in mind as a quiet guide that will deepen one's appreciation of the city. forever." — Alexander Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris and Hungry for France

On Hidden Gardens of Paris

“Paris may be universally known as the City of Light, but based on this exquisite book it could just as easily be called the City of Parks.” —Chicago Tribune

“No matter how many times you have been to Paris, never go again without Susan Cahill (are you listening, Woody?) In our many visits there since 1957 my wife Judith and I thought we had covered all the known and not-so-known delights of the city. Only in reading The Hidden Gardens of Paris did we realize we had missed much of what had been hiding in plain sight. In her earlier book The Smiles of Rome she had worked the same magic, enabling us to return to the Imperial City in the company of notable writers whose experience in their time enraptures the visitor today. We have already started packing for Paris.” —Bill Moyers

“Whether you go often to Paris or are making your first visit, this is the guide you need. Susan Cahill will accompany you through the parks of this beloved city—from famous public spaces to secret gardens: a walk through the history and lore of Paris and Parisians, all in the open air.” —Shirley Abbott, author of The Bookmaker's Daughter, Love's Apprentice, and The Future of Love

“The secluded places that Susan Cahill and Marion Ranoux show us may have seemed off limits to the considerate traveller, anxious to avoid an invasion of French privacy. But this lively and informative guide gives one the confidence and the an overwhelming desire to venture into the Jardin Catherine Labouré and the Jardin du Musée Rodin, or, on the other hand, to tackle the Bois du Boulogne on the next visit to Paris.” —Elizabeth Cullinan, author of House of Gold

“As someone who likes to build a walk into her daily routine, this handy, informative little book helped me visit old neighborhood park and garden friends and meet new ones. And what's not to like about the gardens of Paris and the stories behind them?” —Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
Cahill's (Hidden Gems of Paris) latest travel guide takes readers through the streets of Paris following the lives of 22 famous residents. From the Middle Ages to the present, Cahill brings to life the history of writers, philosophers, painters, composers, and scientists who lived in the City of Light. Each chapter begins with a photograph of the locale, the street address and nearby Metro stations, and is followed by a history of the famous Parisian. "The Lonely Passion of Marie Curie" tells of Curie, a newly arrived 24-year-old from Poland, as her life unfolds in the city from studying at the Sorbonne, her marriage to Pierre, the birth of her daughters, and her many scientific achievements. Following the history, "For the traveler" details the specific locations as they relate to the subject, with information such as hours of operation and websites. The chapters end with a section called "Nearby" in which other areas of interest (cafés, gardens, museums, etc.) in the vicinity are highlighted. VERDICT Perfect companion book for those planning a trip to Paris. Armchair travelers will delight in the histories and may find further inspiration in the bibliography.—Lacy S. Wolfe, Ouachita Baptist Univ. Lib., Arkadelphia, AR

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