Paris During Eliot's Residence in 1910-1911: a Practical Guide to the City (Paris, France; T. S. Eliot) (Essay‪)‬

WHEN T. S. ELIOT HAD WHAT HE CALLED "THE EXCEPTIONAL GOOD FORTUNE" ("WHAT FRANCE" 44) TO SPEND THE ACADEMIC YEAR 1910-1911 IN PAPAS, TAKING COURSES FROM THE FAMED PHILOSOPHER HENRI BERGSON AT LE COLLEGE DE FRANCE AND SEARCHING FOR ms POETIC VOICE, HE ENCOUNTERED A CITY OF ENORMOUS COMPLEXITY WHICH, ACCORDING TO BAEDEKER'S 1907 EDITION OF HIS GUIDEBOOK PARIS ET SEE ENVIRONS, HAD HAD A REPUTATION SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES OF BEING THE PREMIERE CITY OF SCIENCE, ART, INDUSTRY, AND PLEASURE IN EUROPE (XXIII), BALANCING BOTH GREAT REVERENCE FOR THE PAST AND EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE REPRESENTED BY NEW ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY. WHILE IN OTHER ESSAYS I HAVE FOCUSED ON THE CULTURAL MILIEU, IN THIS ESSAY I WILL RECONSTRUCT WHAT I CALL THE PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE CITY TO CONVEY AN IMPRESSION OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN ELIOT LIVED THERE. TO THAT END, AFTER GIVING A BRIEF HISTORY OF PARIS FROM 1848 TO 1911 TO SET THE STAGE, I WILL EXPLORE A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS INCLUDING DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS; ECONOMIC ASPECTS; BUILDINGS AND LANDMARKS; TRANSPORTATION; COMMUNICATIONS; ELECTRICITY; SANITATION; ENTERTAINMENT; MEDICINE AND SCIENCE; EDUCATION; MEN, WOMEN, AND FASHIONS; AND SPORTS. (1) History of Paris from 1848-1911