Tales of Two Cities: Paris, London, and the Birth of the Modern City

An American-born historian teaching at the University of Southampton (U.K.), Conlin (The Nation’s Mantelpiece) explores the complex rivalry between London and Paris from 1700–1914, when the two cities transformed into the world’s pre-eminent cultural centers. Conlin examines the emergence of the English and French lifestyles and how the cities’ dual ascendance played out in private and public spaces: the street, the cemetery, the apartment, the restaurant, the underworld, and the music hall. He covers achievements such as “making the night visible” with street lighting, the rise of apartment living, the popularity of public dancing, and the origin of restaurants. This social history adds up to a pleasant, colorful read, and though Conlin is mining territory that many able historians have visited before, his source materials reflect a serious mind at work. The book contains many captivating sketches and stories of the towns’ emergence as two great metropolises, which today remain among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management. (Nov.)