I'm currently reading (at a snail's pace due to having required reading for classes) Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb and absolutely love it. He gives a history of the city by looking at incidents in the life of famous Parisians (Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Zola) as well as less-famous ones (Francois Picaud/Joseph Lucher - the man whose life inspired the character of Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, Henry Murger - whose short stories inspired "La Boheme", Marville - the photographer who preserved old Paris before Napoleon III reorganized the city). It's a fascinating collection of stories and I highly recommend it.
Reading Parisians has expanded my list of places to visit in Paris (if they exist and are open to the public still). So far, I'll be adding the Palais Royale, the Saint-Mande cemetery, the Catacombs (I was surprised I didn't know about this place!), the Latin Quarter, the home of Dumas, and the home of Zola.
I've also decided to add Emile Zola's Nana to my pre-Europe reading list. I shall post the first installment of "The List" shortly.
Robb's history of Paris is so engaging and different from any history work I've read before. I love the concept of using short stories from various moments in time, written in changing styles, to give a fuller portrait of a place. I wonder if I could do the same for London while I'm there... hmmm... THESIS IDEA???
I've never been to Paris, but I'm obsessed with the catacombs. The parts that are open to the public are small compared to the actual amount of catacombs. They actually have a problem with people illegally entering unauthorized parts of the catacombs and getting lost. Also, even more interesting is that it tends to be big place for Parisians to have illegal underground raves.
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