The History of Paris from Caesar to Saint Louis

by Maurice Druon

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0246643080
• ISBN13: 9780246643087
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 99 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating story, perfectly told.

I hope Maurice Druon lives -- and writes -- forever. Reality meets history at the hand of a master writer in each of Druon's books. This one is the story of the growth of Paris from its beginning before Roman times as an island village to Louis VIII and the archives of St. Louis. We can only hope he will write another volume to bring the story up to the modern megalopolis we know as the City of Light. The story told here is amazing but it is the writing that brings it to life and attaches the reader firmly to the page. The fortunes of the city waxed and waned over the centuries.After the death of Charlemagne, for example, "Apart from the sounds of commerce, and the ringing of coin from the mint which the emperor had authorised, there was silence on the banks of the Seine, a sort of historical torpor. The awakening was to be bloody."After that awakening a respite, then the Norsemen came, "...at Easter, 843, 120 Danish ships attacked Paris. The people fled into the country; the city was sacked, and when the ships left they were down to the gunwales under the weight of booty. Among much else, the Norsemen carried away the splendid bronze roof of Saint-Germain-le-Dore....Paris received another visitation at Christmas 856, and several churches lost their roofs."The story of Paris is the story of kings and saints, men and women who lived adventure, faced destiny and either gave in to or changed history. "Great men do not make history," Druon writes, "but it needs them, and history cannot be made without them." Too many histories are drab dates and dull records of events. Druon shows us the exploits and achievements of history and the men and women who acted and reacted to affect the way it all turned out."Paris was to grow longer, but concentrically, like a tree. As we count the years in the section of a tree, so we can measure ring by ring on successive maps of Paris, the work of the centuries, history's cold winters and the rich summers of prosperity."I give this book my highest recommendation. I can't imagine anyone, young or old, educated or uneducated, not enjoying it to the fullest. No matter who you are, how well you know or do not know Paris, you are in for a real treat.Also, if you can find copies of his ACCURSED KINGS books -- about the kings of France, do so! They are the best written and their stories make the Plantagenets and the British monarchy look like a bunch of easy living wimps.Anything by Maurice Druon is a winner.