Overview

Elaine Sciolino, the former Paris Bureau Chief of the New York Times, invites us on a tour of her favorite Parisian street, offering an homage to street life and the pleasures of Parisian living. I can never be sad on the rue des Martyrs, Sciolino explains, as she celebrates the neighborhood s rich history and vibrant lives. While many cities suffer from the leveling effects of globalization, the rue des Martyrs maintains its distinct allure. On this street, the patron saint of France was beheaded and the Jesuits took their first vows. It was here that Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted circus acrobats, Emile Zola situated a lesbian dinner club in his novel Nana, and Francois Truffaut filmed scenes from The 400 Blows. Sciolino reveals the charms and idiosyncrasies of this street and its longtime residents the Tunisian greengrocer, the husband-and-wife cheesemongers, the showman who s been running a transvestite cabaret for more than half a century, the owner of a 100-year-old bookstore, the woman who repairs eighteenth-century mercury barometers bringing Paris alive in all of its unique majesty. The Only Street in Paris will make readers hungry for Paris, for cheese and wine, and for the kind of street life that is all too quickly disappearing.

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9781410487933

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Elaine Sciolino came to Paris as an outsider, and has made the city hers. In this book, she uses a deep knowledge of French history, a journalist's curiosity, and a playful sense of humor toexamine life on one Paris street.--Gerard Araud, French ambassador to the United States Intricately detailed, fastidiously researched, Elaine Sciolino has written a love poem to a spectacular, singular street in Paris . There are delights and discoveries on every page. A jewel of a book!--Patricia Wells, author of At Home with Patricia Wells Elaine takes us on a walk down one of the most charming streets in Paris. I learned fascinating facts through her lively, engaging prose. A must-read for Paris lovers.--Clothilde Dusoulier, author ofThe French Market Cookbook and Edible French Elaine Sciolino uses a deep knowledge of French history, a journalist's curiosity, and a playful sense of humor toexamine life on one Paris street. The result is a literary tour de force insightful, profound, brilliant.--Gerard Araud, French ambassador to the United States A master storyteller, Elaine Sciolino has made the everyday life of one Paris street extraordinary. She writes with compassion and wit . I have been seduced!--Guy Savoy, chef and restaurateur Sciolino takes readers for a cultural and historical stroll along her adopted city s venerable rue des Martyrs in this warmhearted, well-researched gem . Readers will appreciate her mixture of the tenacity of journalism and a warm memoir-like quality. Under Elaine Sciolino s lyrical and humane gaze, a single Parisian street yields its secrets . Sciolino draws us into her world with a novelist s finely paced prose and detailed psychological portraits.--Rhonda Garelick, author of Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History Sciolino knows her city, and it s charming that her favorite street there isn t one of the famed grand boulevards but the cafe and shop crammed Rue des Martyrs . Sort of like being there.--Barbara Hoffert

Sciolino knows her city, and it s charming that her favorite street there isn t one of the famed grand boulevards but the cafe and shop crammed Rue des Martyrs . Sort of like being there.--Barbara Hoffert

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