By Émile Zola

Conservative and working-class, Jean Macquart is an skilled, middle-aged soldier within the French military, who has continued deep own loss. whilst he first meets the rich and mercurial Maurice Levasseur, who by no means turns out to have suffered, his hatred is rapid. yet once they are thrown jointly throughout the disastrous Franco-Prussian warfare of 1870-71, the pair are forced to appreciate another. Forging a profound friendship, they have to fight jointly to undergo a disorganised and brutal battle, the savage destruction of France's moment Empire and the autumn of Napoleon III. one of many maximum of all conflict novels, "The Debacle" is the 19th novel in Zola's nice Rougon-Macquart cycle. A forceful and deeply relocating story of shut friendship, it's also a desirable chronicle of the occasions that have been to steer, within the phrases of Zola himself, to the homicide of a nation'.

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Everything seemingly is here—from Calder’s 1928 Josephine Baker (one of his earliest versions of the mobile) to a re-creation of Brancusi’s Jazz Age studio. Centre Pompidou. • Musée Jacquemart-André: The 19th-century town house, with its gilt salons and elegant winding staircase, contains the best small collection of 18th-century decorative art in Paris. The building and its contents were a bequest to the Institut de France by the late Mme Nélie Jacquemart-André, herself an artist of note. • Musée National du Moyen Age/Thermes de Cluny: This museum houses some of the most beautiful medieval art still in existence.

Paris is currently undergoing a bio (organic) revolution, and being green, organic, and ethical is very much in fashion these days. You can find the health food store Naturalia in nearly every neighborhood, and all major supermarkets now offer their own ranges of both organic and environmentally friendly products. Restaurants that offer organic dishes are becoming increasingly popular, and organic wine is also in high demand. Twice a year Paris hosts the Salon des vins des Vignerons Indépendants (the Independent Winegrowers’s Tradefair).

Acknowledgments Thank you to my family and friends, especially the many Parisians who helped me along the way. —Joseph Alexiou I would like to thank Mike Nellis, Maureen Waugh, and Victoria for their unending support; Kate van den Boogert for her inspiration; and Michael Parker for all his encouragement during this particular project. —Sophie Nellis Special thanks to Paris by Mouth intern Catherine Down who provided fact-checking and other assistance for the dining chapter. —Meg Zimbeck Thank you to Jessica Langan-Peck and Chris Summers for their help editing portions of this book.

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