City of Light: The Making of Modern Paris - Hardcover

Rupert Christiansen has been writing about the arts for the Daily Telegraph since 1996. His many books include Prima Donna, Paris Babylon, and Romantic Affinities, which received the Somerset Maugham Award. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 1997, he teaches at Keble College, Oxford and lives in London.

"The demolition and rebuilding of Paris during the Second Empire was, then as now, a subject of impassioned disagreement.... [An] astute, gossipy history."―New Yorker

"Highly readable... Christiansen grounds Haussmann's story in the political turmoil of the times."―Wall Street Journal

"Witty, learned and informative...This little book will make you want to walk the expansive elegance of Paris, as well as its back streets, from one end to the other, seeking of French history in the sites it brings so vividly to life."―New York Times Book Review

"If you are heading for Paris...be sure to put City of Light in your bag...Rupert Christiansen's account of the destruction and rebuilding [of Paris] is masterly-vivid, dramatic...and ultimately tragic."―Sunday Times (UK)

"Good reading for all lovers of the City of Light."―Booklist (starred review)

"A concise yet admirably thorough account of the reinvention of one of the world's great cities...Engrossing."―Kirkus

"A valuable contribution to modern French and urban history."―Publishers Weekly

"Brisk, vivid, and unexpectedly stirring."―Mail on Sunday

"Christiansen writes about the streets he clearly loves with wit and élan...Christiansen's splendidly illustrated book made this homesick expat look at Paris with new eyes."―Times

"If you are heading for Paris...be sure to put City of Light in your bag...Rupert Christiansen's account of the destruction and rebuilding [of Paris] is masterly-vivid, dramatic...and ultimately tragic."―Sunday Times