Metro Stop Paris: An Underground History of the City of Light - Hardcover

Starred Review. Historian Dallas's conceit-a Métro tour of Paris in 12 episodes-offers a wonderful opportunity to examine key moments and characters in the city's history, which he does with verve, style and originality. All 12 tableaux are subtly linked by the themes of birth and death, which in Dallas's hands, permeate Paris's history through the centuries. The first stop is Denfert-Rochereau, in the part of Paris once called "Hell," where the catacombs are located and where the guillotine was moved in 1830. Indeed, there are several beheadings in Dallas's tales, not to mention the death of King Henri II in a jousting match, unleashing a bloodbath that included the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The author offers irreverent appraisals of other royals and noblemen whose folly invariably led to bloodshed. On the other hand, the last stop is, fittingly, the Pè Lachaise cemetery, whose visitors, despite the surrounding graves, "have a glimpse of hope in their eyes: one soul may be gone, but another is always born." Dallas is equally adept at cultural, political and military history, presenting a close-up view of the now-demolished Les Halles through Zola's novel The Belly of Paris and a rousing account of the weeks leading up to the French Revolution. Anyone who loves Paris will love this book.
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