Paris Babylon: The Story of the Paris Commune [Paperback]

Rupert Christiansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Between 1869 and 1875, Paris was known to the world as "the new Babylon." A city obsessed with sex and money and ruled by the ailing tyrant Louis Napoleon and his ruthless wife Eugenie, Paris was a place of intensity, violence and volatility. Tracing Europe's most glittering capital as it tettered on the verge of the Franco-Prussian War and the horror that ensued, Christiansen evokes one of the most dramatic periods of modern history. photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This engrossing history of the French capital during the 1870s by Somerset Maugham Prize-winner Christiansen (Romantic Affinities) begins by reprinting an 1869 travel guide to "gay and beautiful Paris" published just before the fall of Emperor Napoleon III during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Relying on a foundation of excellent research, and exercising great narrative skill, the author details Parisian political and social life before and after the war. A city attractive to tourists because of its visionary civic planning, rich culture and sensuality was brought to its knees by a Prussian siege that resulted in widespread starvation and death. Angered by financial hardships imposed by a monarchist assembly, elected after peace was restored, working-class Parisians formed a government in 1871; their "Paris Commune" rebelled against the ruling powers. Life during the following two-month civil war, which ended with the defeat of the commune and the execution of its leaders, is vividly described in this gripping social history. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

For this social history of the late Second Empire, Franco-Prussian War, and bloody beginnings of the Third Republic, the original (British) title, Tales of the New Babylon, Paris 1869-1875, is a better fit. Only one chapter concerns the commune itself, but the book consists of many vivid stories, from the lurid murder of a family to an account of making do with mouse meat for haute cuisine while under siege. Christiansen (Romantic Affinities: Portrait of an Age, 1780-1830, LJ 6/15/88) disavows original analysis and profundity here but rightly claims to use many unfamiliar sources in addition to relying heavily on the well-known Goncourt journals. These, and the immediacy of his narrative, make up for the rather pointillistic treatment of his subject. For public and academic libraries.
R. James Tobin, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Milwaukee
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140129804
• ISBN-13: 978-0140129809
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very well-written account of a fascinating time and place, October 17, 1999

By 

Balto Reader "bils" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paris Babylon: The Story of the Paris Commune (Paperback)

Rupert Christiansen has written an historical account that is also a "great read"; hard to put down and very enlightening. I had just finished reading a novel that was set (partially) in Paris around the time of the Franco-Prussian war and wanted to find out more. Surprisingly, this is the only book I could find that dealt with this utterly fascinating time and place. The title of the book says it's "the story of the Paris Commune". This is incorrect; only a relatively small part of the book deals with the Commune, while the major part describes life in the Second Empire of Louis Napoleon and the Siege of Paris during the war. I couldn't help but draw parallels to current Western culture while reading about Paris in the 1860s: creation of incredible wealth and its ostentatious display, pioneering techniques of entrepreneurship, rapid developments in transportation and communication, rampant cynicism among the intellectuals, popular fascination by the news media with private lives and notorious murders, and a very public decline in sexual morality. The author covers the sociology, the history, and the politics in a very smooth combination of original sources and his own narrative. It never gets bogged down on detail, but still presents a very complete description. This is a book that could be enjoyed by anyone, even those who have little knowlege of the 19th century and little interest in history.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very well-written account of a fascinating time and place, October 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Paris Babylon: The Story of the Paris Commune (Paperback)

Rupert Christiansen has written an historical account that is also a "great read"; hard to put down and very enlightening. I had just finished reading a novel that was set (partially) in Paris around the time of the Franco-Prussian war and wanted to find out more. Surprisingly, this is the only book I could find that dealt with this utterly fascinating time and place. The title of the book says it's "the story of the Paris Commune". This is incorrect; only a relatively small part of the book deals with the Commune, while the major part describes life in the Second Empire of Louis Napoleon and the Siege of Paris during the war. I couldn't help but draw parallels to current Western culture while reading about Paris in the 1860s: creation of incredible wealth and its ostentatious display, pioneering techniques of entrepreneurship, rapid developments in transportation and communication, rampant cynicism among the intellectuals, popular fascination by the news media with private lives and notorious murders, and a very public decline in sexual morality. The author covers the sociology, the history, and the politics in a very smooth combination of original sources and his own narrative. It never gets bogged down on detail, but still presents a very complete description. This is a book that could be enjoyed by anyone, even those who have little knowlege of the 19th century and little interest in history.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent contemporaneous history of the French commune, November 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Paris Babylon: The Story of the Paris Commune (Paperback)

Rupert Christiansen really brings the Commune alive through
a combination of research, archived interview, old
news clips, and photos. The commune's ascendancy and collapse
is related as a compelling chronology. His fine writing
brings out the french pompousness that lead to the franco-
prussian war; the siege of Paris; the state of denial that
held to the last days among the upper class; the state of terror
and famine of the lower class; and the ultimate collapse
of the commune and eventual slaughter of the communards.
As one who has lived in Paris, I highly recommend it even if
you don't traditionally read history books.