The Invention of Paris: A History Told in Footsteps

A radical guide to Paris through art, literature and revolution. In The Invention of Paris, radical author and publisher Eric Hazan takes the reader on an exciting and historically rich tour through the construction of Paris, exploring the places and struggles that have marked its growth. Concentrating both on the literary and cultural representations of the city, as well as riots, rebellions and revolutions—throughout the nineteenth century and up until 1968—Hazan acts as a guide who is simultaneously personal and rigorous in tone. Introducing us to characters as varied as Balzac, Baudelaire, Blanqui, Flaubert, Hugo, Manet and Proust, Hazan charts the formation of a “Red Paris” through the sedimentation of acts and sources of insurgency, and gives us an unparalleled history of the barricade in the life of the city. The Invention of Paris opens a window on a Paris too often hidden beneath tourist kitsch and bourgeois complacency. 20 b&w illustrations.