This collection investigates the cultural, political, and social climate of Paris during the interwar period through the lens of a seasoned observer. Janet Flanner, writing as Genêt for The New Yorker, provides a primary source account of French life from 1925 to 1939. The book compiles her dispatches to document the shifting landscape of a nation moving toward the brink of global conflict, utilizing her unique position as an American expatriate to analyze the nuances of European society.

This work is regarded as a definitive journalistic record of the interwar era, praised for its sharp wit and observational precision. The text serves as an essential resource for historians and readers interested in the cultural history of 20th-century Europe.