{"product_id":"passion-for-paris-hardcover","title":"Passion for Paris - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDavid Downie\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA top-notch walking tour of Paris. . . . The author's encyclopedic knowledge of the city and its artists grants him a mystical gift of access: doors left ajar and carriage gates left open foster his search for the city's magical story. Anyone who loves Paris will adore this joyful book. Readers visiting the city are advised to take it with them to discover countless new experiences. --\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred) \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA unique combination of memoir, history, and travelogue, this is author David Downie's irreverent quest to uncover why Paris is the world's most romantic city--and has been for over 150 years.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAbounding in secluded, atmospheric parks, artists' studios, cafes, restaurants and streets little changed since the 1800s, Paris exudes romance. The art and architecture, the cityscape, riverbanks, and the unparalleled quality of daily life are part of the equation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut the city's allure derives equally from hidden sources: querulous inhabitants, a bizarre culture of heroic negativity, and a rich historical past supplying enigmas, pleasures and challenges. Rarely do visitors suspect the glamor and chic and the carefree atmosphere of the City of Light grew from and still feed off the dark fountainheads of riot, rebellion, mayhem and melancholy--and the subversive literature, art and music of the Romantic Age. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWeaving together his own with the lives and loves of Victor Hugo, Georges Sand, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac, Nadar and other great Romantics Downie delights in the city's secular romantic pilgrimage sites asking, Why Paris, not Venice or Rome--the tap root of romance--or Berlin, Vienna and London--where the earliest Romantics built castles-in-the-air and sang odes to nightingales? Read \u003ci\u003eA Passion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light\u003c\/i\u003e and find out.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Downie, a native San Franciscan, lived in New York, Providence, Rome and Milan before moving to Paris in the mid-1980s. He divides his time between France and Italy. His travel, food and arts features have appeared in print publications worldwide. Downie is co-owner with his wife Alison Harris of Paris, \u003ci\u003eParis\u003c\/i\u003e Tours custom walking tours of Paris, Burgundy, Rome \u0026amp; the Italian Riviera. He is the author of the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eParis, Paris\u003c\/i\u003e, and the bestselling \u003ci\u003eParis to the Pyrenees\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 05, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51761025351968,"sku":"9781250080370","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/f324a8f95bb87661e40f0df56e4c5d02.webp?v=1780197508","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/passion-for-paris-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}