A Wanderer in Paris

Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 507K words
Chapters: 51

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Wanderer in Paris by E. V. LucasAuthor: Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938,Language: English, Class: DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco, Release Date: Nov 6, 2011

Editor's review

E. V. Lucas's A Wanderer in Paris is a quintessential early twentieth-century "wanderer" city essay: with a walker's eye the author links Paris's streets, buildings, museums and cafés, weaving historical anecdotes, famous-person lore and personal impressions into an easygoing narrative. Its charm lies not in density of information but in tone—a composed, mildly humorous English essayistic voice that makes readers feel they are traversing the city with a learned and good-tempered companion. The book touches on the historical background of many districts and sites, and can serve both as a literary guide and as a window into how the English-speaking world imagined Paris at the time. A caveat: it is not an up-to-date travel guide; transport, fares and opening information are long outdated, and some passages carry the cultural prejudices of their era. The best way to read it is as a "literary map": start with chapters that interest you, then match them against today's map to find the corresponding places, taking pleasure in the overlay of imagination and reality. For readers who love city essays, Paris culture and English prose, this is a slow book that rewards patience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy city-wandering essays and English prose
Those interested in Paris's history, culture and neighborhood lore
Travelers planning an in-depth Paris trip who want some background stories
Students of early twentieth-century travel writing and urban writing

Not a good fit for

Practical travelers needing current transport and accommodation information
Readers who prefer systematic historical monographs or rigorous argument
Readers impatient with a slow, discursive essayistic style

Reading tips

Choose chapters by district or landmark and read alongside a map, turning the reading into armchair wandering.
There is no need to read it straight through; keep it by the bed or in a travel bag and dip in—this suits the genre better.
Mark passages about historical figures and events as you go; looking them up afterward deepens understanding.
Read the relevant chapters before a trip to build anticipation, then read them again afterward to savor them against the real scenes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can this book be used as a Paris travel guide?

Not as a practical guide. It was written in the early twentieth century, and transport, prices and opening information are all obsolete. Its value lies in historical anecdote and literary description; it can serve as cultural background reading before a trip, but actual itinerary planning still requires current guides and maps.

Can I understand it without background knowledge of Paris?

You can read it, but understanding will suffer. The book refers extensively to streets, buildings and historical figures, and without background you can easily lose the thread. It is best to learn some basic Paris geography and a few major historical periods first, or consult maps and encyclopedias as you read; the experience will be much smoother.

What is the author's writing style?

It belongs to the early twentieth-century English essay tradition: the tone is composed and genial, mixing narrative and commentary, skilled at drawing historical anecdotes and personal reflections from the scene before him, humorous without malice. It does not aim for completeness of information but wins through companionship and a walking pace—suited to slow reading rather than skimming.

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About the author

Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall), 1868-1938 Author

E. V. Lucas (Edward Verrall Lucas, 1868–1938) was an English writer and editor whose biographical details are relatively limited in publicly available sources. Thirteen of his works are held here, chiefly travel essays and light prose: Highways and Byways in Sussex, A Wanderer in Venice, A Wanderer in Holland, A Wanderer in Paris, and A Wanderer in Florence, among others. These books observe European cities and countryside through a wanderer's eye, with an easy pace and a keen, leisurely curiosity. He also wrote works with a parodic or discursive bent, such as The War of the Wenuses and A Boswell of Baghdad, as well as essay collections like Rose and Rose. His writing favors daily observation and personal taste, in a gentle, companionable style suited to casual reading, and holds some reference value for later travel literature and the familiar essay.