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The Discovery of France Graham Robb

The Discovery of France By Graham Robb

The Discovery of France by Graham Robb


$24.49
Condition - Very Good
<20 in stock

Summary

The story -- and history -- of France, told from a unique perspective

The Discovery of France Summary

The Discovery of France by Graham Robb

It's easy to reduce France to the sum of its parts: weekend breaks amid the culture of Paris or summer holidays basking in the sunshine of the south; accounts of the Revolution -- Madame Defarge knitting beside the guillotine -- and Napoleon's battle at Waterloo (mis)remembered from school history lessons; a country famous for its intellectuals, its philosophers and writers, its fashion, food and wine.

Despite this, however, the notion of 'the French' as one nation is relatively recent and -- historically speaking -- quite misleading; in order to discover the 'real' past of France, it's not only necessary to go back in time, but also to go at a slower pace than modern life generally allows: this book is the result of 14,000 miles covered by bicycle (and four years spent in the library). It is -- at last -- a book which tells the whole story.

Praise for Robb's last novel, Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century:

`Funny, enterprisingly researched, and undertaken with few apparent preconceptions . . This is an excellent, amusing, decent book, which covers an enormous amount of ground in a little space' Philp Hensher, Spectator

`A fascinating study of a complex subject, written with humanity, sceptical intelligence and an impressive command of the sources' Daily Telegraph

`A fascinating mix of personal testimony and judiciously filleted history' The Times

About Graham Robb

Graham Robb was born in Manchester in 1958 and is a former fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. He has published widely on French literature and history. His 2007 book The Discovery of France won both the Duff Cooper and Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prizes. For Parisians (2010) the City of Paris awarded him the Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris. He lives on the English-Scottish border.

Table of Contents

    • Section - i: List of Illustrations
    • Section - ii: Maps
    • Section - iii: Itinerary
  • Chapter - 1: The Undiscovered Continent
  • Chapter - 2: the Tribes of France, I
  • Chapter - 3: The Tribes of France, II
  • Chapter - 4: O Oc Si Bai Ya Win Oui Oyi Awe Jo Ja Oua
  • Chapter - 5: Living in France, I: The Face in the Museum
  • Chapter - 6: Living in France, II: A Simple Life
  • Chapter - 7: Fairies, Virgins, Gods and Priests
  • Chapter - 8: Migrants and Commuters
  • Unit - INTERLUDE: The Sixty Million Others
  • Chapter - 9: Maps
  • Chapter - 10: Empire
  • Chapter - 11: Travelling in France, I: The Avenues of Paris
  • Chapter - 12: Travelling in France, II: The Hare and the Tortoise
  • Chapter - 13: Colonization
  • Chapter - 14: The Wonders of France
  • Chapter - 15: Postcards of the Natives
  • Chapter - 16: Lost Provinces
  • Chapter - 17: Journey to the Centre of France
    • Section - iv: Epilogue: Secrets
    • Section - v: Chronology
    • Section - vi: Notes
    • Section - vii: Works Cited
    • Index - viii: General Index
    • Index - ix: Geographical Index
    • Acknowledgements - x: Acknowledgements

Additional information

GOR001254204
9780330427609
0330427601
The Discovery of France by Graham Robb
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Pan Macmillan
2007-09-07
400
Winner of Duff Cooper Prize 2008 (UK) Long-listed for BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize 2008 (UK)
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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