The Flaneur

Description

American author Edmund White’s 2001 volume on the flaneur serves as a jolly decent introduction to this mysterious figure who appears frequently in literature, since first being coined as an archetype by Charles Baudelaire in 1863. Later writers such as Louis Aragon and Walter Benjamin expanded on the philosophy of the flaneur, and Edmund White provides a handy, more contemporary tome that references them all and puts the theories into practice. White lived in Paris during the 1980s and 90s, and spent much of his time flanning about the city, noting down his observations on topics as diverse as the relationship of the French with the law and the death of Colette, all of which appear in this charming little book. This is the hardback first edition in very good condition.