Paris: A Short History
A concise history of Paris and the great events and personalities, from prehistory to the present, that have shaped its unique cultural legacy. Paris has long been celebrated as a place of style, wit and sensuality. In this deft and broad-ranging narrative, Jeremy Black demonstrates that the history of Paris is about more than a city: it is the history of a culture, a society and a state that has impacted the rest of the world through centuries of changing fortunes. Black explores how a humble Gallic capital grew into a flourishing medieval city full of spectacular palaces and cathedrals. He depicts the opulent courts of Louis XIV and XV and the Revolution that tore French society apart; the Belle Epoque and the destruction of World Wars I and II, leading us on to the Paris of today: one of the most iconic cities in the world.
Author: Jeremy Black
Format: Paperback, 256 pages, 129mm x 198mm, 240 g
Published: 2025, Thames & Hudson Ltd, United Kingdom
Genre: Regional History
A concise history of Paris and the great events and personalities, from prehistory to the present, that have shaped its unique cultural legacy. Paris has long been celebrated as a place of style, wit and sensuality. In this deft and broad-ranging narrative, Jeremy Black demonstrates that the history of Paris is about more than a city: it is the history of a culture, a society and a state that has impacted the rest of the world through centuries of changing fortunes. Black explores how a humble Gallic capital grew into a flourishing medieval city full of spectacular palaces and cathedrals. He depicts the opulent courts of Louis XIV and XV and the Revolution that tore French society apart; the Belle Epoque and the destruction of World Wars I and II, leading us on to the Paris of today: one of the most iconic cities in the world.