In this luminous portrait of Paris, the celebrated historian gives us the history, culture, disasters, and triumphs of one of the world's truly great cities. While Paris may be many things, it is never boring.From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIV (who abandoned Paris for Versailles); Napoleon's rise and fall; Baron Haussmann's rebuilding of Paris (at the cost of much of the medieval city); the Belle Epoque and the Great War that brought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and the postwar period dominated by de Gaulle—Horne brings the city's highs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes and villains splendidly to life. With a keen eye for the telling anecdote and pivotal moment, he portrays an array of vivid incidents to show us how Paris endures through each age, is altered but always emerges more brilliant and beautiful than ever. The Seven Ages of Paris is a great historian's tribute to a city he loves and has spent a lifetime learning to know.
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“Vividly and eloquently written by one of the most engaging of popular historians and delivered by one of the most accomplished of narrators, Derek Perkins. This simpatico match travels the busy centuries of Paris’ founding, growth, and survival, a story in which architecture plays as important a role as kings and armies, and in which the human comedy is always center stage…The perfect companion, a tour of the city with the best of guides. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” — AudioFile
“Vividly and eloquently written by one of the most engaging of popular historians and delivered by one of the most accomplished of narrators, Derek Perkins. This simpatico match travels the busy centuries of Paris’ founding, growth, and survival, a story in which architecture plays as important a role as kings and armies, and in which the human comedy is always center stage…The perfect companion, a tour of the city with the best of guides. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
“Renders France unusually vivid.”
“Knowledgeable and colorful, written with gusto and love… [An] ambitious and skillful narrative that covers the history of Paris with considerable brio and fervor.”
“Horne gives readers a wonderful sense of everyday life in Paris at every turn and displays a convincing understanding of the Parisian character.”
. . . delivered by one of the most accomplished of narrators, Derek Perkins.
" The author takes constant swipes against the Catholic Church, which gets very tiresome, and casts doubt on his historical objectivity. "
Alistair Horne is the author of eighteen books. He is a fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford. In 1993 Horne was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur and in 2003 received a knighthood for his work on the history of France.
Derek Perkins is a professional narrator and voice actor. He has earned numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, as well as numerous Society of Voice Arts nominations. AudioFile magazine named him a Best Voice consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents, he has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.
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