La Belle France
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
"A useful and charming introduction to a nation that has oh-so-definitely helped make the modern world what it is... Horne does a service in helping the reading navigate the complexities of French history." —Los Angeles Times
From the aclaimed British historian and author of Seven Ages of Paris comes a sweeping, grand narrative written with all the verve, erudition, and vividness that are his hallmarks. It recounts the hugely absorbing story of the country that has contributed to the world so much talent, style, and political innovation.
Beginning with Julius Caesar’s division of Gaul into three parts, Horne leads us through the ages from Charlemagne to Chirac, touring battlefields from the Hundred Years’ War to Indochina and Algeria, and giving us luminous portraits of the nation’s leaders, philosophers, writers, artists, and composers. This is a captivating, beautifully illustrated, and comprehensive yet concise history of France.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If this "sister work" of Horne's delightful Seven Ages of Paris is "the culmination of some four decades of a love affair with France," the relationship between author and mistress shows no signs of waning. Horne takes his lover's story from the "yobbish louts" of the sixth-century Merovingian dynasty to the career of Fran ois Mitterrand and his "liaisons dangereuses" (both political and private). The author fondly delves into a drawerful of narratives, historical snapshots and personal anecdotes, but lovers' quarrels resurface in entertainingly brusque judgments and occasional character assassinations. Val ry Giscard D'Estaing and Jean-Paul Sartre inspire some particularly choice language: "If there was ever a philosopher guilty of the sin Socrates was accused of, being a false corrupter of youth, Sartre seemed to be it." He smelled, says Horne, like a goat, a quality he apparently shared with Henri IV, whom the author conversely admires as a statesman. It's the compellingly subjective treatment of modern France, and the irreverent appraisal of its icons, that makes this book so worth reading. While Horne's medieval and early modern chapters are swift but superficial, the book's second half is reflective and charming. Horne's moving account of the dilemmas of resistance and collaboration under Nazi occupation and the vindictive purification that followed is an emotional climax. 24 pages of color illus., not seen by PW; 4 maps.
Customer Reviews
Awesome
It's the best book ever it's absolutely fascinating