Lhe Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral reopens its doors this December 7 and, to take full advantage of this historic moment, some bookish travel advice. You know your classics, Victor Hugo and Georges Duby with The Age of Cathedralsthen here is a selection of books to refresh your knowledge of the most famous cathedral in the world.
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– The most learned: glory to Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent
The former director of heritage at the Ministry of Culture has created a dense, solid, erudite work, including 86 magnificent illustrations. The absolute reference on the history of Notre-Dame.
The Glory of Our Lady. Faith and powerby Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent, Gallimard, 2023.
– The most explorative: Philippe Bélaval, at the helm
Emmanuel Macron's truculent cultural advisor followed the construction site from the Élysée side. Former president of the Center of National Monuments for almost ten years (2012-2023), passionate about heritage, this man, who knows how to make old stones speak, signs an essay which is teeming with documentary details, not only on the cathedral, but also throughout the Île de la Cité, a concentration of buildings steeped in history and stories.
Notre-Dame de Paris. A history of the Île de la Citéby Philippe Bélaval, Les Presses de la Cité, 2019.
– The most breathtaking: long live Bernadette Sauvaget
Specialist in everyday questions of religion and secularism Liberationauthor of several books and documentaries on Catholicism, Bernadette Sauvaget tells with an alert pen the underside of the titanic construction site. Without hiding anything from the political, religious and media pressures as well as the ego battles which weighed on the various stakeholders. The true novel of the new Notre-Dame!
Notre-Dame de Paris, resurrectedby Bernadette Sauvaget, Fayard, 2024.
– The best informed: Mathieu Lours advantage
The quick historian, among the best current experts in religious heritage, had the chance to follow the construction site from start to finish for five years. It is he who signs the texts of the official restoration book, in conjunction with the public establishment responsible for the work and its president, Philippe Jost. A beautiful book where the testimonies of the companions and craftsmen who were the linchpins of the site and the powerful photographs of David Bordes, Romaric Toussaint and Patrick Zachmann interweave.
Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Parisby Mathieu Lours, Tallandier, 2024.
– The “Very High”: Sylvain Tesson, in ecstasy
As we know, the writer knows the towers, statues and other gargoyles of Notre-Dame by heart, having climbed them with his bare hands on multiple occasions. Following the fire, Sylvain Tesson wrote a text on the spot published in our columns, which he expanded on in fervent pages published in Ecuador immediately. A text which, at this very moment, a stone's throw from the spire of Notre-Dame, is being performed at the Poche-Montparnasse theater.
Notre-Dame de Paris. O queen of painby Sylvain Tesson, Ecuador, 2019.
– Most lyrical: King Ken Follett
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
The author of the world bestseller The Pillars of the Earth reissues the ode he had dedicated to the Queen of Paris just after the fire. To read at the time of tea break.
Notre Dameby Ken Follett, Robert Laffont, 2024.
