If you’re new to the world of copywriting, you may wonder what the ‘Pas’ in ‘Pas de Paris’ stands for. It’s actually ‘Passé-Partout’ which means ‘Past All Over The Place’. The French Impressionistic Movement and the arts in general were greatly influenced by the 19th century novel, War and Peace, which is why ‘Pas de Paris’ is often referred to as a ‘War and Peace of the sewers’. It was Tolstoy’s masterpiece – literally translated – which introduced the world to his novel, Anna Karenina. If you liked War and Peace, you’ll love Jeeves, the gentleman’s gentleman’s gentleman, who appears in numerous Agatha Christie novels. He’s often at the center of the action, solving the murder and keeping the peace in beautiful, wealthy communities. In terms of the ‘Pas’ in ‘Pas de Paris’, it stands for the fact that the novel’s setting is a sewer. As mentioned, there’s a whole society living in the Paris sewers, so it’s quite a diverse group, which is exactly what makes it so interesting. You’ll learn more about the Paris sewers and their inhabitants in Andy Griffiths’s fascinating book, The Human Body: A Tour of Body Hair. It features over 100 color photographs of people, many of whom are well-known French celebrities. It’s worth a read if you can get your hands on a copy.