Creating Paris as We Know It.

On the surface Dr. McAuliffe, the author of several books on the history of Paris, gives us an interesting account of the redesign and reconstruction of the “City of Light” by Baron Hausmann during the Second French Empire. But beyond that, she also offers an excellent overview of – or perhaps introduction to – France in the era of Louis Napoleon, from the formation of the Second Republic in 1848 through the collapse of the Second Empire and creation of the Third Republic in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune in 1870-1871. McAuliffe touches on government, politics, culture, society, art, theatre, literature, diplomacy, science, and more, including military policy and several wars.

The book has a great cast, and we not only get nuanced looks at Haussmann and Louis Napoleon, but the Empress Eugénie, who was surprisingly influential, as well as Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Édouard Manet and several other artists, Georges Clemenceau, León Gambetta, and a flock of other politicians, assorted Rothschilds, the “Emperor” Maximillian of Mexico and his wife Carlotta, and many, many more.

Although McAuliffe doesn't flatly make the point, as several earlier historians of the Second Empire have, the regime of the “Little Napoleon” gives us some insights into the origins and nature of Fascism in Europe in the following century.

Marred only by having but one map, and that not a very good one, Paris, City of Dreams is a valuable read.

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Note: Paris, City of Dreams is also available in paperback &  e-editions.

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