Andrew Martin has been described as ‘the laureate of railways’, having written many books with railway themes. But Andrew has always been obsessed with the Paris Metro, hence ‘Metropolitain’, an English history of the Metro for the general reader. ‘Metropolitain’ is as stylish as the Metro itself and laced with cultural references. Andrew explains why ‘Last Tango in Paris’ is a great Metro film, and what the Metro chase scene in the classic thriller, ‘Le Samourai’, says about Parisian culture. He describes how he came to appreciate the beauty of Guimard’s sinuous green Metro entrances when he bought a lily of the valley and observed it flowering on his desk.