by Lucy Sante
First published 2015
Luc Sante reconstructs the forgotten Paris that existed alongside the celebrated City of Light. This alternate metropolis housed the poor, criminals, outcasts, and nonconformists who lived in the shadows of grand boulevards and fine restaurants. Sante draws from witnesses ranging from Balzac and Hugo to street dwellers and rabble-rousers to map this vanished world. He guides readers through the tangled streets before Haussmann's renovations, into makeshift bohemian quarters, and through brothels, dance halls, and shelters. The book examines labor conditions, prostitution, drinking culture, crime, and popular entertainment. Sante profiles the reporters, singers, writers, and poets who documented these forgotten lives. More than three hundred images accompany his research. The book challenges conventional narratives about the French capital and reclaims the city's history from wealthy residents and developers, illuminating the lives of those pushed out by commercial forces.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, 19th-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction, social-commentary
Setting: Paris, France
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux