The Flaneur

'A stylish, deftly erudite and enormously diverting book'

Sunday Telegraph 'An artfully aimless pleasure cruise around Paris' - Guardian 'White's genius as a flâneur is revealed in his affinity for unexpected pleasures, and he includes many for our delectation' - New Yorker

A unique and eclectic view of Paris through the eyes of a fierce and witty intellect. A flâneur is a stroller, a loiterer, someone who ambles without apparent purpose but is secretly attuned to the history of the streets he walks - and is in covert search of adventure, aesthetic or erotic. Acclaimed writer Edmund White, who lived in Paris for sixteen years, wanders through the avenues and along the quays, into parts of the city virtually unknown to visitors and indeed to many locals, luring the reader into the fascinating and seductive backstreets of his personal Paris.

'One has the impression of having fallen into the hands of a highly distractible, somewhat eccentric poet and professor who is determined to show you a Paris you wouldn't otherwise see ... White tells such a good story that I'm ready to listen to anything he wants to talk about' - New York Times Book Review