Personality of Paris

Alan R. H. Baker is Life Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, UK. He is the author of three books, including Geography and History: Bridging the Divide (2003) and Amateur Musical Societies and Sports Clubs in Provincial France, 1848-1914 (2017), and the editor or co-editor of a further seven books. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

• List of IllustrationsPrologue1. Beginnings: The Founding of Paris and its Growth to 1800 2. Peopling Paris: The Making of 'Parisians' 3. Monumentalising Paris: commemorating its Past 4. Modernising Paris: Rebuilding the City 5. Symbolising Paris: Architectural Iconography6. Projecting Paris: Five World Exhibitions7. Enjoying Paris: Food, Fashion and Fun8. Escaping Paris: (Re)discovering Nature and the Provinces 9. Assassinating Paris: Revolutions, Wars and the Twentieth CenturyEpilogueBibliographyIndex

Using his skill and experience as a historical geographer, Alan Baker provides an illuminating exposition of how the varied townscape of Paris came into being during the long nineteenth century. Enriched with an array of maps and illustrations, his depiction of the complex and always split personality of Paris is a most welcome contribution to our understanding of the appearance of the city.