A Passion for Paris

February 15, 2015
Join Downie (Paris to the Pyrenees: A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of St. James, 2013, etc.) for a top-notch walking tour of Paris.In search of what makes Paris romantic, the author takes us to the 19th century. Early on he notes that Paris may be romantic just because writers, artists and musicians say it is. But romanticism is not just literary or artistic; it's also political. Throughout the 1800s, there was a host of activists who mocked the status quo. Victor Hugo based his play Hernani, about adulterous lovers and their unfortunate end, on true life, and as Paris audiences often did, they rioted, opening the war between romanticism and classicists. Throughout the book, the author shares his love of places that he has explored for 30 years. He recounts the lives and loves of Hugo, Dumas, Sand, Delacroix and so many others in the romantic shrines of the Marais, Luxembourg Gardens and the Arsenal Library. Literature of this age reflected the essence of romanticism, where chronology and logical plots were reactionary. The French are complex, ambiguous and contradictory by nature, and they are proud of their weaknesses and faults. Understanding the romantics requires understanding Paris, and searching for the real Paris is part of the journey. On that journey, Downie is the consummate guide. Reflecting on Foucault's pendulum, the author writes, "the real Paris is of the mind, so it doesn't exist and can't age." The author's encyclopedic knowledge of the city and its artists grants him a mystical gift of access: Doors left ajar and carriage gates left open foster his search for the city's magical story. Anyone who loves Paris will adore this joyful book. Readers visiting the city are advised to take it with them to discover countless new experiences.

April 15, 2015

Downie (Paris, Paris; Paris to the Pyrenees) adds to his travel oeuvre with an exploration of Paris in the Romantic Age. Through literary, artistic, and political lenses, the author describes the emergence of the Romantics in the 1830s and their influence on Paris for the next 20 years. From the love triangle of Victor Hugo, his wife, and Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve to Romantic Parisian architecture, Downie covers a wide range of topics and features photographs and illustrations to visually support the text. He describes his travels through the world of the Romantics and encourages readers to visit these Parisian spots made famous by the likes of Alexandre Dumas, Franz Liszt, George Sand, and many others. He also provides a listing of key dates and characters of the period. VERDICT This title will appeal to lovers of the City of Light who are interested in a more in-depth exploration of the metropolis. Those with an interest in the music, art, and literature of the Romantic Age will find the work engaging.--Lacy S. Wolfe, Ouachita Baptist Univ. Lib., Arkadelphia, AR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2015
David Downie (Paris to the Pyrenees, 2013) is a Paris transplant, a walking-tour guide steeped in Parisian lore, and an acclaimed writer. In A Passion for Paris, he seeks the source of the city's celebrated aura of romance in those who fomented the cultural revolt that turned Paris into the capital of Romanticism. Downie begins this intrepidly researched, entrancingly descriptive, ruminative, funny, and revealing inquiry by telling the uncensored story of prodigious Victor Hugo, who basically wrote the manifesto for Romanticism while navigating a truly racy love life. Downie also chronicles the complex romantic entanglements of Balzac, Baudelaire, George Sand ( the Great Woman of the Age of Romanticism ), and Henri Murger, whose Scenes of Bohemian Life inspired Puccini's opera, La Boheme. Canny observations about Paris' spirit of freedom, permanent sexual revolution, and embrace of melancholy, which lies at the root of Romanticism and romance, are laced throughout this provocative inquiry. With 115 photographs and many exquisitely written passages detailing his visits to historic sites and romantic enclaves, Downie presents a gorgeously discursive and affecting homage to Paris' great Romantics, and to the city itself, redolent with art, literature, and longing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)