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    Seven Ages of Paris
    Seven Ages of Paris
    Seven Ages of Paris
    Audiobook20 hours

    Seven Ages of Paris

    Written by Alistair Horne

    Narrated by Derek Perkins

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In this luminous portrait of Paris, the celebrated historian gives us the history, culture, disasters, and triumphs of one of the world's truly great cities. While Paris may be many things, it is never boring.

    From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIV (who abandoned Paris for Versailles); Napoleon's rise and fall; Baron Haussmann's rebuilding of Paris (at the cost of much of the medieval city); the Belle Epoque and the Great War that brought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and the postwar period dominated by de Gaulle-Horne brings the city's highs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes and villains splendidly to life. With a keen eye for the telling anecdote and pivotal moment, he portrays an array of vivid incidents to show us how Paris endures through each age, is altered but always emerges more brilliant and beautiful than ever. The Seven Ages of Paris is a great historian's tribute to a city he loves and has spent a lifetime learning to know.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 20, 2018
    ISBN9781541485808
    Seven Ages of Paris
    Author

    Alistair Horne

    Sir Alistair Horne was born in London in 1925, and has spent much of his life abroad, including periods at schools in the United States and Switzerland. He served with the R.C.A.F. in Canada in 1943 and ended his war service with the rank of Captain in the Coldstream Guards attached to MI5 in the Middle East. He then went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English Literature and played international ice-hockey. After leaving Cambridge, Alistair Horne concentrated on writing: he spent three years in Germany as correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and speaks fluent French and German. His books include Back into Power; Small Earthquake in Chile; The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 ; and The Seven Ages of Paris. A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–62 won both the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and the Wolfson History Award in 1978, and he is the official biographer of Harold Macmillan. In 1970, he founded a research Fellowship for young historians at St Antony’s College, Oxford. In 1992 he was awarded the CBE; in 1993 he received the French Légion d’Honneur for his work on French history and a Litt.D. from Cambridge University.

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    Reviews for Seven Ages of Paris

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    • 5/5
      Seven Ages of Paris is a great introduction to the history of Paris as well as to the wider context of the history of France and the individuals who have played a major role in its history. Alistair Horne takes no knowledge for granted in the reader and therefore he frequently provides the necessary background including, for example, introducing Napoleon, Louis XIV and other historic leaders of the country. Many readers will probably find some of this context unnecessary, but few will find it useless. It helps fill in the gaps in discussing the history of the city over a 2000 year period and provides a fuller and more readable history of Paris itself.In each period, Horne seeks to highlight the political, institutional, religious, cultural, legal and architectural developments, if any. Rather than try to provide a continuous history of all of these trends (which most likely would turn the book into very dry reading as well as lengthening it significantly), Horne zeros in on the interesting highlights. However, Horne does not neglect the intervening periods but provides information on transitional developments. He also includes anecdotes and events that in the grand scheme of things may not be significant but that a reader may appreciate knowing for their intrinsic interest.
    • 4/5
      I truly wish I was planning a trip to Paris sometime soon, as this is the perfect book to read before exploring that famous city. Rich in history, the author provides a compelling account of how Paris evolved over the centuries into the beautiful city of today. Going back to its ancient roots and delving to details like fashion, culture, and even its most famous cemetery, this is a great read on Paris and France as a nation.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderfully written history of Paris by a noted Francophile, one of whose previous books on the Franco Prussian war, siege and Commune I read and enjoyed several years ago. Full of colour and variety, it covers political and military history, architecture, culture and the arts, and gives a good feeling for the ebb and flow of life, at least in the latter parts. Coverage is fairly uneven, e.g. the first 1300 years occupy the same number of pages as the 20 years of the Napoleonic era; this is of course inevitable up to a point, but I would have welcomed a little more coverage of the pre-1500 period overall, and some may quibble over his choice of dates for the 7 ages (the first begins in 1180). This is a pleasure to read, but it could definitely have done with more detailed maps of the city at various stages and perhaps line drawings of buildings being described.
    • 5/5
      This book is sick. It amounts to a history of France, but Horne stays focused on the real Paris, as it was and as it is, in a wonderful way, while providing awesome insight into the character of Parisians and of France in general. It's an awesome book.

      I was reminded of fellow Goodreader F1Wild, who doesn't like military history. I don't either, so I was psyched that Horne breezes by military affairs, while giving much more shrift to art, literature. architecture, fashion, and the rest of what makes society.

      And Jennifer will be pleased to hear that the epilogue focuses on Père Lachaise Cemetery, which has so many important people in it that it's basically like a history of Paris unto itself.

      Totally readable, exquisitely researched, gossipy in a good way...this is a very, very good book. I wish I'd never visited Paris without it.
    • 2/5
      This book is a real mediocrity. I'm living in Paris for a few months, so it seemed only reasonable to read a book that is a "history of Paris." Well, this isn't it. What this is, is a history of political events in France, and the impact of those events on the rulers of Paris, and, to some extent, the ordinary middle-class and poor. You learn very little of the changes in the governmental structure, the organization of the food supply, the periods of architectural change -- isn't that what a history of a city would tell you about? Instead, the author manages to pack in every bit of gossip he can imagine about the monarchs and generals. We read that Henry IV smelled bad but had many lovers. I suppose that's interesting. We only learn of the architectural style associated with his reign in passing.

      If you just want an old-fashioned political history of France, centered on Paris, with very little nuance regarding societal structure, this book may be for you. But it is thin gruel if you want to learn about the city.
    • 3/5
      Themes: civilization, war, government, religion, politics, city development, art, architecture, royaltySetting: Paris, France from before 1000 AD to 1968The author starts by saying that every city is like a person, and Paris is definitely a woman. Like any fascinating woman, she is changeable and captivating. I'm not entirely sure this conceit works, but it's not a bad way to start off the book.Here's what works: I could certainly feel the amount of research that must have gone into this book. I'm sure it was staggering, and it shows. The author is obviously really familiar with all the key people, places, and ideas. And I liked being able to link things together. For the first time, I really got a sense of how all those Louis's fit together and exactly who Cardinal Richelieu was.What didn't work: Really, it was too much. I was overwhelmed. Some of that may have been my fault, for trying to read the book straight through, without putting it down for very long, but I was afraid I would lose my place, so to speak, if I set it down. So I pushed through and it got to be confusing. Personal feelings: I was actually glad to see that the writer sort of skimmed through the French Revolution. It became just one of a series of revolts occuring in the capital, and rather than go into all the disgusting violence in a lot of detail, he just hit on a few things, especially how it affected the look of the city itself and the economy. I read The Lost King of France last year and that one had gory detail piled upon detail of dismemberment, torture, and so on, until I couldn't wait to put it down. This book spared me all that, and I was glad. But if you are interested in the history of France primarily during the French Revolution, this is probably not a great book for you.My other observation is probably not the author's fault, but the publishers. This is the kind of book (or I am the kind of reader, I don't know which) where you need some more maps and illustrations and so on to figure out what's going on. Instead of having them throughout the text, there are a few pages of color pictures and a few pages of black and white pictures, and that's it. I would have liked at least a black and white picture of all the major monarchs and landmarks. He assumes that you know what Paris looks like, but I only know what I've seen in books and movies. But like I say, that may be the publisher. They seem to be very picky about how many pictures they will include.Overall: I enjoyed this book, somewhat, but I came away with the strong impression that I am EXTREMELY glad that I do not live in Paris, especially in Paris before 1900. It sounds like a horrible place to live for most people. Yes, there were great artists, musicians, scientists, and politicians who lived there and left their marks on the city. But most of the time, it was a miserable place to be, with plagues, fires, open sewage, constant violence, and little or no civil liberties. Various groups would be rounded up for whatever reason - heresy, political unrest - and summarily executed or tortured. I know this went on in most of the world, but wow, I got really tired of reading about it page after page. I debated between 2.5 stars and 3, but I decided to round up, because I think the author did a pretty good job. It's just that I found the subject rather grimmer than I expected.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. However, there were portions of it that were much easier to get through than others. I was somewhat familiar with the periods of Louis X through Louis XVI and I found I was much more involved in the book during these "ages." However, when they got to the World War I and World War II and post World War II I found it more difficult to keep up. The Vichy/Petain characters were a bit of a muddle for me reading. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the entire book immensely. I just think the more you know about French/Paris history before reading this book then the more compelling this book will be. It is very detailed considering the range of time that it encompasses, yet it still continues to keep you interested.Great book and very thorough and educational although I suspect the readers that will appreciate this book the most are those who already have a good basic knowledge about Paris and her history.
    • 5/5
      This history of Paris reads like a novel, full of character who I fell in love with and wanted to spend more time with. It is one of those few books that as soon as I got to the last page, I wanted to start at the beginning again.
    • 3/5
      I read this book on the chunnel on a the way to spend a week in Paris - this was a wonderful choice. In a rather short book the author surveys the rich history of Paris from Roman times to the '68 riots. Wonderfully written and highly readable. Don't leave for Paris without it.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book so much. I only wish I had read it before either of my trips to Paris. The city is amazing, but I think knowing it's history would have made it more meaningful. Especially since that history is insanely fascinating.