Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [21]
Going back in time, in the history of early medieval French literature Paris does not figure largely, though the misadventures of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse (boxed text) took place in the capital as did their mutual correspondence, which ended only with their deaths. And here they lie.
François Villon, considered the finest poet – in any language – of the late Middle Ages, received the equivalent of a Master of Arts degree from the Sorbonne before he turned 20 years of age. Involved in a series of brawls, robberies and generally illicit escapades, ‘Master Villon’ (as he became known) was sentenced to be hanged in 1462 supposedly for stabbing a lawyer. However, the sentence was commuted to banishment from Paris for 10 years, and he disappeared forever. As well as a long police record, Villon left behind a body of poems charged with a highly personal lyricism, among them the Ballade des Pendus (Ballad of the Hanged Men), in which he writes his own epitaph, and the Ballade des Femmes du Temps Jadis, which was translated by the English poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti as the ‘Ballad of Dead Ladies’.
The great landmarks of French Renaissance literature are the works of François Rabelais, Pierre de Ronsard and other poets of the group referred to as of La Pléiade and Michel de Montaigne. The exuberant narratives of the erstwhile monk Rabelais blend coarse humour with erudition in a vast œuvre that seems to include every kind of person, occupation and jargon to be found in the France of the mid-16th century. Rabelais had friends in high places in Paris, including Archbishop Jean du Bellay, whom he accompanied to Rome on two occasions. But some of Rabelais’ friends and associates fell afoul of the clergy, including his publisher Étienne Dolet. After being convicted of heresy and blasphemy in 1546, Dolet was hanged and then burned at place Maubert in the 5e arrondissement.
During the 17th century, François de Malherbe, court poet under Henri IV, brought a new rigour to the treatment of rhythm in literature. One of his better-known works is his sycophantic Ode (1600) to Marie de Médici. Transported by the perfection of Malherbe’s verses, Jean de La Fontaine went on to write his charming Fables in the manner of Aesop – though he fell afoul of the Académie Française (French Academy) in the process. The mood of classical tragedy permeates La Princesse de Clèves by Marie de La Fayette, which is widely regarded as the precursor of the modern character novel.
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top picks
BOOKS ABOUT PARISIANS & THE FRENCH
An Englishman in Paris: L’Éducation Continentale, Michael Sadler (2003) – rollicking, very funny (mis)adventures of a self-proclaimed Francophile teacher in the City of Light with a preface from Peter Mayle.
Culture Shock France, Sally Adamson Taylor (2005) – subtitled ‘A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette’, this was the first (and remains the best) introductory handbook to France and its foibles, Parisians and their peculiarities.
The Last Time I Saw Paris, Elliot Paul (2001) – a superb classic work by an American expat that looks back on the working-class Paris of the interwar years in a series of interwoven episodes.
The French, Theodore Zeldin (1983) – dated but highly acclaimed survey of French passions, peculiarities and perspectives by British scholar now advising the Sarkozy government.
Un Peu de Paris, Jean-Jacques Sempé (2001) – wordless, very gentle portrait of Paris and Parisians in cartoons from a national institution whose work appears frequently in The New Yorker.
Savoir Flair, Polly Platt (2000) – subtitled ‘211 Tips for Enjoying France and