Research Catalog

Title

France : a history : from Gaul to de Gaulle / John Julius Norwich.

Author

Norwich, John Julius, 1929-2018.

Publication

London : John Murray, 2018.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 382 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly colour), maps; 25 cm

Summary

"...This book is written in the belief that the average English-speaking man or woman has remarkably little knowledge of French history. We may know a bit about Napoleon or Joan of Arc or Louis XIV, but for most of us that's about it. In my own three schools we were taught only about the battles we won: Crécy and Poitiers, Agincourt and Waterloo. The rest was silence. So here is my attempt to fill in the blanks... John Julius Norwich (at 88) has finally written the book he always wanted to write, the extremely colourful story of the country he loves best. From frowning Roman generals and belligerent Gallic chieftains, to Charlemagne (hated by generations of French children taught that he invented schools) through Marie Antoinette and the storming of the Bastille to Vichy, the Resistance and beyond, FRANCE is packed with heroes and villains, adventures and battles, romance and revolution. Full of memorable stories and racy anecdotes, this is the perfect introduction to the country that has inspired the rest of the world to live, dress, eat -- and love better."--Publisher's description.

Subject

• France > History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Very dark indeed: 58 BC-843 -- Their own destruction sure: 843-1151 -- The gift of Excalibur: 1151-1223 -- The fatal tower: 1223-1326 -- A captured king: 1326-80 -- A foregone conclusion: 1380-1453 -- The universal spider: 1453-83 -- A warm, sunlit land: 1483-1515 -- With his usual flourish: 1515 -- 47 -- 'Well worth a mass': 1547-1643 -- 'L'Etat c'est moi': 1643-1715 -- The writing on the wall: 1715-89 -- 'I am indeed your king': 1789-93 -- 'Pas de faiblesse!': 1793-5 -- A blessing or a curse?: 1795-1815 -- The perfect compromise: 1815-48 -- 'A symbol of national glory': 1848-52 -- A sphinx without a riddle" 1852-70 -- The last manifestation: 1870-3 -- 'J'accuse!': 1873-1935 -- The Cross of Lorraine: 1935-45 -- Epilogue.

Call Number

JFE 18-4224

ISBN

• 9781473663831
• 9781473679634
• 147367963X
• 1473663830

OCLC

991789325

Author

Norwich, John Julius, 1929-2018.

Title

France : a history : from Gaul to de Gaulle / John Julius Norwich.

Publisher

London : John Murray, 2018.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Research Call Number

JFE 18-4224