Paris at the End of the World: The City of Light During the Great War, 1914-1918 [9780062221407]

Overview

A preeminent writer on Paris, John Baxter brilliantly brings to life one of the most dramatic and fascinating periods in the city’s history.

From 1914 through 1918 the terrifying sounds of World War I could be heard from inside the French capital. For four years, Paris lived under constant threat of destruction. And yet in its darkest hour, the City of Light blazed more brightly than ever. It’s taxis shuttled troops to the front; its great railway stations received reinforcements from across the world; the grandest museums and cathedrals housed the wounded, and the Eiffel Tower hummed at all hours relaying messages to and from the front.

At night, Parisians lived with urgency and without inhibition. Artists like Pablo Picasso achieved new creative heights. And the war brought a wave of foreigners to the city for the first time, including Ernest Hemingway and Baxter’s own grandfather, Archie, whose diaries he used to reconstruct a soldier’s-eye view of the war years. A revelatory achievement, Paris at the End of the World shows how this extraordinary period was essential in forging the spirit of the city beloved today. 

This meticulously researched social history reveals:

• The City Under Siege: Discover how Paris thrived on the very edge of the front lines, with the sounds of battle audible from its cafés and its famous taxis ferrying soldiers to the Marne.
• Art in the Darkest Hour: While the city lived under threat, artists like Pablo Picasso and writers like Ernest Hemingway found new creative heights, forever changing the cultural landscape.
• A Soldier’s-Eye View: Journey with the author’s grandfather, Archie, through his personal diaries, offering a rare and intimate perspective of a soldier’s life during the Great War.
• The Birth of Modern Paris: Witness the end of one era and the beginning of another, as the war forges the vibrant, resilient, and cosmopolitan spirit of the city we know today.