A Passion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light Paperback – April 5, 2016

David Downie has written a remarkable and unexpected tale of the 19th century Romantics of Paris. Deeply grounded in French literature, art and history, he shows readers the physical Paris that was inhabited by Victor Hugo, Balzac, George Sand, Baudelaire, Delacroix and others. Not only where they met, but what their neighborhoods were like, how far apart from one another they lived, and which streets they took to their assignations. Reading, it's possible to follow in their wake imaginatively or even to make your own Romantic map for the next time you are there.Do this and you will time travel to a different Ile Saint Louis from the high-toned one you know. 150 years ago, Bohemia existed there, and can still be traced. Was the Marais always chic? No -- it was both Royal and Bohemian, and ruled by Victor Hugo, more famous than any writer would ever be again. The Montmartre of the Romantics was hilly, grassy, with pasturing goat herds and the freshest of fresh air. The windmills were utterly for real, and the artists' studios were vast, light and cheap.If you have ever wondered how the great Romantics bodily inhabited Paris, how long it took them to walk from one haunt to another, and howmuch of what they did and saw is available to you today, then read this book. Seeing their art and poetry in a new context that no one butDavid Downie could provide, you will want a date to meet a like-minded friend under the bust of Chopin in the Luxembourg Gardens, and set off make their trail your own. If you could use an architectural disquisition on why Haussmann's Paris feels and looks all wrong, then there's one here that you can "dine out on for a year."The bountiful illustrations from diverse sources are a delight -- as real and nostalgic as theater ticket stubs. Alison Harris makes a superb photographic contribution to this book. Almost best of all, reading the final pages, you will realize the answer to a question you may never even have posed -- how Romantic are you?

Brilliant study of the great artists that give us modern day Paris. Well written, and different, it is more a memoir than a fiction novel, and is therefore personal and engaging as a story. My only restraint is to say that to get wrapped up in the story most people would prefer a familiarity with the "City of Light" and especially with the many, many renowned artists and writers referenced. Otherwise, this is a very interesting read and certainly enlightened me about the 'passions' I have over looked during my many visits.

It is easy in the throes of passion to lose all sense of equilibrium and plunge head first into a saccharine rhapsody. However David Downie has managed to write a love song to Paris with intimate precision, wit, intelligence and not a trace of sentimentality. He delves into the layers of the collective romantic Parisian psyche with investigative charm, portraying characters (both real and literary), relationships of every possible permutation, and the architectural details of their lives. His ability to weave history, culture, politics, art, and urban landscape, illuminate why Paris is the empress of romanticism. David Downie is a ”fabulous fabulist.”

I have a passion for Paris & have read many books (both in English & French) about the city over the years. I've long considered David Downie's "Paris, Paris" my favorite, because I feel transported to Paris when reading it. So I was very disappointed to find that "A Passion for Paris" is mostly a rambling, gossipy recounting of the love lives of prominent French figures, mostly literary, of the 19th century. I gave up reading the book about midway through, but from what I read I could find little analysis about romanticism in general & what was advertised as the general theme of the book, namely how the romantics relate to making the city what it is today. Also there is no bibliography.

As the dust jacket rightly states, A Passion for Paris is a "unique combination of memoir, history, and travelogue" and yet it is so much more. Thankfully Mr. Downie doesn't unnecessarily confine his book to simplistic explanations of "what is Paris romanticisim" or "why people project romance on to Paris". Instead, Mr. Downie weaves together aspects of Paris' history, architecture, literature, and, most importantly, its great personalities into a narrative that wanders through time, place, and people. Like so much of Paris, this book is a palimpsest full of history and stories that have been forgotten by many but are in fact what imbues Paris with its romance and je ne sais quoi. In the best way this book is like an intellectual itch - every aspect of Paris that it scratches only makes you want to delve deeper until you are lost into that quintessential vie en rose that is Paris, France.

David Downie is unparalleled at transporting a reader back in time to a street, in a room, eavesdropping on a conversation in Paris. His fastidious research and a willingness to cross boundaries - literally (he's always sneaking past guards and through unsecured gates to excavate the ambiance of history)- gives flesh, smell and texture to every person and setting from the era of Romanticism highlighted in this latest tome. Keep a map of Paris nearby as you read A Passion for Paris and you can follow the paths and back alleys used by the likes of George Sand, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas and more of the incredible coterie of intellectuals and artists who inhabited Paris, and each other's beds, contemporaneously. I kept flipping to his index to confirm that this much talent and joie de vivre existed in one point in time. I never want Downie's books to end and can't wait to see where his erudite curiosity takes him next.

This is a book that I listened to on Audible. It's challenging to listen to because of names of French streets, shops, sayings are hard to remember as I am not familiar with them. It's is very well-written, though, and the author is very knowledgeable about Paris present and past.

All three of David Downie's books on Paris are a must read for anyone who already loves Paris, or is going there for the first time ... and they should be re-read before or after each visit. He has a writing style that is engaging and intelligent, and treats the reader with respect whilst still maintaining a healthy mastery, gained from (and justified by) his years of living and exploring the City.I have never visited Paris after reading his writings, without enjoying the place more than on previous visits; and am still amazed that there is still so much I have to discover - something made easier and more enjoyable through reading these books.He draws on earlier writings about the City, as well as authors and novelists, many of which I have also read, but makes said writings more accessible and relevant to today.Wandering the streets of Paris is one of life's pleasures, and David Downie helps us to understand both the history and culture of the place (I wish someone would/could write such books about London).There are other books by him which are also worth reading.David (if I am allowed to call him by his first name) would be a welcome guest at anyone's dinner table ... he is certainly welcome at mine anytime!

I have been to Paris many times and was married to a Frenchman educated in Paris but seeing the City of Light through David Downie's eyes gave me an entirely new perspective. A very thoughtful book.

Wonderful background reading ahead of a trip to Paris. Downie writes with compelling fluidity often interspersing personal anecdotes with his accounts of the great romantic writers who lived in Paris.

As described