Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (vol. 2)

In 1835, an Englishwoman turned her sharp gaze upon Paris and recorded everything. Frances Milton Trollope, mother of the great novelist Anthony Trollope, wrote these letters from the heart of a city still buzzing with the aftermath of revolution and the peculiar glamour of Louis-Philippe's July Monarchy. She begins with an observation that still rings true: Frenchwomen possess an 'inimitable style' instantly recognizable to English eyes, a visual language that transcends mere fashion. What unfolds is a delightful cross-cultural collision, as Trollope dissects the differences between English and French approaches to dress, social gathering, and self-presentation. The English, she notes, transform themselves multiple times daily, while the French achieve more with simpler means. These observations about silk and sleeves serve as a gateway into larger questions about French society, its politics, and its vibrant artistic life. Written with the keen eye of a outsider who became a fascinated insider, this volume offers readers a vivid time machine to a Paris that no longer exists, seen through the eyes of a woman who knew exactly what she was looking at.