• Contents: Part I: A Little theory goes a long Way: What is chanson?; How do you write about chanson?; What is not chanson: some fine distinctions - poetry and Chanson, art song and chanson, musical comedy and chanson, chansonniers and chanson, folksong and chanson, folksong and chanson, chanson and the singer-songwriter; The gender of the genre - masculinities, Anne Sylvestre, Véronique Sanson, What happened to the women singer-songwriter?; The psycho-anthropology of everday chanson; The frenchness of chanson; Part II: Practice makes perfect: Precursors - Artistide Bruant, Georgius, Yvette Guilbert, Mireille, Edith Piaf; The charm of Charles Trenet; Charles Aznavour: a sentimental realist; Léo Ferré: creating a space for transgression; Georges Brassens: the appropriation for a literarcy heritage; Jacques Brel: the dramatic synthesis; Barbara: performing the feminine; Serge Gainsbourg: how to win by cheating; Part III: Innovation and renovation: the nouvelle chanson française: Bernard Lavilliers carrying world music on his shoulders; Renaud: the apotheosis of satire, parody and slang; Alain Souchon and Laurent Voulzy: Lennon and McCartney are alive and well and working in Paris; Michel Jonasz: a personal fusion; MC Solaar: a gardener of words; From one fin de siècle to another; General Miscellaneous bibliography and discography; Index.

"Well-researched, agreeable to read, modestly ambitious, this book should prove invaluable for those who already teach or study chanson and will very probably prompt others to do the same." Modern Language Review"This affectionate [...] study by a Senior Researcher Fellow at the University of Bristol examines the modern chason realist, the mainstay of French popular music for well over a century." Opera Now