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Paris to the Past
- Traveling Through French History by Train
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
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In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites listeners on 25 one-day train trips that depart from Paris and transport us back through 700 years of French history. Whether taking us to Orléans to evoke the visions of Joan of Arc or to the Place de la Concorde to witness the beheading of Marie Antoinette, Caro animates history with her lush descriptions of architectural splendors and tales of court intrigue. “[An] enchanting travelogue” (Publishers Weekly), Paris to the Past has become one of the classic guidebooks of our time.
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It was the splendor and the scandal of the age. In 1506, the ferociously ambitious Renaissance Pope Julius II tore down the most sacred shrine in Europe, the millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica built by the Emperor Constantine over the apostle's grave, to build a better basilica.
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Spell binding
- By Margaret on 10-17-07
By: R.A. Scotti
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Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities
- By: Bettany Hughes
- Narrated by: Bettany Hughes
- Length: 24 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Koran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, North and South, it has been the capital city of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was the very center of the world, known simply as "The City", but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city but a global story.
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A daunting undertaking pulled off superlatively
- By SGS on 12-24-17
By: Bettany Hughes
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The Borgias and Their Enemies
- 1431-1519
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame. The Borgias were notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
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Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
- By Chap Walker on 06-16-13
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Leonardo and the Last Supper
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Early in 1495, Leonardo da Vinci began work in Milan on what would become one of history's most influential and beloved works of art - The Last Supper. After a dozen years at the court of Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, Leonardo was at a low point personally and professionally: at 43, in an era when he had almost reached the average life expectancy, he had failed, despite a number of prestigious commissions, to complete anything that truly fulfilled his astonishing promise.
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Informative yet creative
- By Isabellabasil on 05-27-15
By: Ross King
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Koh-i-Noor
- The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond
- By: Anita Anand, William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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On 29 March 1849, the 10-year-old Maharajah of the Punjab was ushered into the magnificent Mirrored Hall at the centre of the great Fort in Lahore. There, in a public ceremony, the frightened but dignified child handed over to the British East India Company in a formal act of submission not only swathes of the richest land in India but also arguably the single most valuable object in the subcontinent: the celebrated Koh-i-Noor diamond. The Mountain of Light.
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Fascinating
- By Jean on 07-08-17
By: Anita Anand, and others
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Castles
- Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Beginning with their introduction in the 11th century, and ending with their widespread abandonment in the 17th, Marc Morris explores many of the country's most famous castles, as well as some spectacular lesser-known examples. At times this is an epic tale, driven by characters like William the Conqueror, King John, and Edward I, full of sieges and conquest on an awesome scale.
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Great book!
- By B Hart on 06-21-18
By: Marc Morris
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Jerusalem
- The Biography
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem, and the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.
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In-depth and gripping history of 3,000 years
- By A reader on 12-16-11
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Daughters of the Sun
- Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire
- By: Ira Mukhoty
- Narrated by: Shernaz Patel
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1526, when the nomadic Timurid warrior-scholar Babur rode into Hindustan, his wives, sisters, daughters, aunts and distant female relatives travelled with him. These women would help establish a dynasty and empire that would rule India for the next 200 years and become a byword for opulence and grandeur. In Daughters of the Sun, we meet remarkable characters like Khanzada Begum who, at 65, rode on horseback through 750 kilometres of icy passes and unforgiving terrain to parley on behalf of her nephew, Humayun....
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Repetitive Content
- By Sharmistha on 07-18-22
By: Ira Mukhoty
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Life in Ancient Rome
- By: Lionel Casson
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Lionel Casson paints a vivid portrait of life in ancient Rome - for slaves and emperors, soldiers and commanders alike - during the empire's greatest period, the first and second centuries AD.
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A good listen about early Rome.
- By Harry on 08-13-23
By: Lionel Casson
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Istanbul
- City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than two millennia, Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city - known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul - is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans.
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A History Without People
- By SeanO on 04-02-19
By: Thomas F. Madden
What listeners say about Paris to the Past
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean D. Bates
- 04-02-16
loved it
Would you listen to Paris to the Past again? Why?
I liked it so much that I bought the book. I've been to France without understanding the history. Now I am going back and this book has given me a great deal of insight
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2 people found this helpful
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- Simone
- 11-19-13
Day Trip From Paris?... Look No Further!
It’s a first hand account of the author’s travels through France, most sights and destinations are within a 90-minute radius from Paris, all accessible either by metro or train (regional train or fast train / TGV). The destinations are set up in chronological order in an attempt to educate the reader a bit about French History – it works! It’s a wonderful guidebook – although not the type you’d carry around with you.
Perhaps it’s because I am planning a trip to Paris for next spring and I am all ears when it comes to suggestions that I was so enamoured by this book, but I think anyone could benefit from the ideas presented.
You can be sure this book will be a resource for every trip to France I ever make! The entire thing was interesting, but I really perked up when it covered places I’d already visited (most of Paris, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chartres and Rouen) or the parts that cover things I plan to see and do on my next trip (more of Paris, Tours and Lyon).
It was a great book, and excellent idea, and a lot of fun to read! Can’t wait to get over there and follow in her footsteps!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Cynthia A. Toles
- 05-01-19
Paris to the Past is wonderful! The reader is not so good
The reader makes the lovely Ina seem pompous -- which she clearly is not — and does this wonderful book a disservice. Her pronunciation of French is awful - mainly because she seems to actually believe it is competent. But she misses the mark by so much. I can barely understand her showy attempts to pronounce words “properly”, uttering sounds I’ve never heard in any language. So embarrassing. I would rather have had a reader proficient in French or someone who didn’t pretend to be, rather than someone who apparently unknowingly has failed so miserably. Nonetheless the content is worth putting up with the annoyance.
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- Brit
- 09-05-13
Wonderful stories of incredible people & places
This is the perfect book to have in your arsenal when planning a trip to Paris/France! Such great storytelling (and gossip) about the epic people,places, art, and food that one finds when travelling by way of French history. I can't wait to go to these places. Caro has truly whet my appetite and I am certain my travel experiences will be much richer because of each and every one of her lovely and thoroughly researched chapters.
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3 people found this helpful
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- eclectic reader
- 06-05-15
One of the two best books on France I know
One of the two best books on France I know. The other is Ina Caros book the road through history the predecessor to this book. If you are traveling to France or enjoy France you will love this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Crisitna Tunon
- 08-25-15
Great listen!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I thought this book was so well done. It's done in chronological order and follows the same families throughout history while you also get general history about the town and castles she is visiting.
What did you like best about this story?
All the fun facts about the royal families she talks about.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me laugh at times, but mostly it just made me happy. Every time I listened to it, it was like I was traveling through time with the author and traveling to France.
Any additional comments?
Great read, I really enjoyed it!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Claudine
- 08-16-17
Great book
Great book and story but the constant mispronouncing of words like Notre Dame made it hard to get past
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- Kirsty
- 10-01-13
History comes to life
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I love the history but am really quite uninterested in where the picnics happened, or which restaurants were eaten in. In this respect, I found the juxtaposition of personal preference for one diner over another very distracting. However, I used the historical information to plan a number of day trips when I was staying in Paris. I feel there should be two editions and I would prefer the abridged one with the non historical detail taken out.
Would you be willing to try another book from Ina Caro? Why or why not?
Also purchased Roads to the Past (hard copy) and used it as the basis for exploring the Loire
What aspect of Christa Lewis’s performance would you have changed?
Some of her French pronunciation was difficult
Did Paris to the Past inspire you to do anything?
Visited a number of the places after listening - including Chartres and Vincennes, and are planning quite a number of others in our next trip
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4 people found this helpful
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- Frank H
- 09-26-18
Outstanding Guide to Paris/Environs
My husband and I are "fired up" for another trip to Paris, from our Audible readings of two books related to the history and historic locations of interesting sites to visit for interesting day trips on the high speed trains, out of various Paris stations.
Ina Carow and her husband now live in Paris, and she is a scholar of history, an organized and savvy traveler with a wealth of highly interesting and informative historic stories to share - from North, South, East and West of the city.
I have found so much relevant information from which to build a framework for our upcoming visit and selected travels - ("off- season", on purpose - that our schedule and itineraries can be focused toward our interests, well-informed, and manageable - including spots (restaurants) and "best-kept secrets" in each visit.
She writes well, and the narrator speaks French with a fluid and competent vocabulary and pronounciation.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mary Elizabeth Reynolds
- 04-12-14
Generation / Culture gap
I had high expectations for this book and plan to go through it again when I understand French history better. I cannot specifically say there was anything wrong with the book, but I kept feeling like it was my uptight great aunt taking me through France. I didn't get any of the romance of France within the pages. It left me a bit flat, but it could be personal. I'm a historian and such things don't usually bother me.
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