I have always loved the romantic, melancholy je ne sais quois that one feels in Paris, and Downie's book captures that feeling wonderfully in prose. Highly recommended both for those who have visited Paris and for those who simply want to be transported their from their favorite reading nook.

What a lovely book to take if we ever moved to Paris and had time to explore in depth! The geography and history of ‘literary celebrities’, especially of the Grand Epoch, are covered in rich detail.

As a book for a casual reader, it was not so interesting.

I received my ecopy from NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

3½ stars

I wish I'd gotten around to reading this book sooner! I've been to Paris about 10 times and I have always loved it. My favourite city in the world so far. My husband has been four times with me. I did the usual touristy things for my first few single trips. Same again for my first two trips with him. He's a literature graduate and we did the Hemingway trail. I'm an impressionist lover so loved the galleries and Montmartre. We have been to Per Lachaise (Wilde, Piaff, Morrison). Since then, our returns have taken us more off the beaten track and we've discovered back street public gardens and cafés and bars that have become favourites. And we can't go without always visiting Shakespeare & Co bookshop, buying a book and getting it stamped. We have also taken our son in the past (when he was 9 yrs old) who also loved the touristy things. This is why I wish I'd read this book sooner. This would have opened our eyes up to so much more and would have been a great walking guide. It's all very well researched, a very interesting read. Maybe not for anyone who has yet to do the usual touristy things in Paris but definitely for those more interested now in the history, architecture and culture, both past and present and how they intertwine. Now we need to arrange another week's trip and go through the book highlighting all the new things we want to experience and revisit some old haunts but armed with new knowledge.