"Understanding The French" 1955 PAUL, Elliot (SOLD)

PAUL, Elliot

[186] pp.

Random House

1955

First Printing

7 3/4" x 5 1/4"

Jacket illustration by Fabres

VG/ VG

This gay and sprightly excursion through the cities and provinces of France takes you once-over-lightly across the heart of the land, evoking fond memories for those who have been there and whetting the appetites of this who have yet to go. Elliot Paul, who won his cordon bleu with The Last Time I Saw Paris and Springtime in Paris, is your host and guide. He briefs you on the French attitude toward Americans. religion, people of other colors, work, Germans, dalliance, pets, art treasures, servants and the tourist trade. Clearly this is in no sense a guidebook, but in its witty pages you will find a surprising amount of information on French good, painting, funerals, literature, furs, dress rehearsals, cafe' life, marriage, beggars, the Paris fire department and sundry bizarre aspects of Gallic life. You will also become au courant with the French policy of love and let love; as Mr. Paul reports, French "are not angered or offended if individual men love women, men, girls, boys, horses, elephants or butterflies, in any known style. So, in this compact volume, you will yourself share vicariously many of the pleasures esteemed by the French people, and you will certainly finish it on much more intimate terms with the knowing and tolerant citizens of la belle France.