Into a Paris Quartier: Reine Margot's Chapel and Other Haunts of St.-Germain

As a child, Diane Johnson was entranced by The Three Musketeers, dashing 17th-century residents of the famous romantic quartier called St.-Germain-des-Prés. Now, the paperback edition of her delightful book will take even more Americans to the richly historic part of the city that has always attracted us, from Ben Franklin in the 18th-century to raffish novelist Henry Miller in the 20th.

Modern St.-Germain is lively and prosperous, and fifty years ago its heady mix of jazz and existentialis...