The Cambridge Illustrated History of France

by Colin Jones , Foreword by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

• ISBN13: 9780521669924
• ISBN10: 0521669928
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In a tour de force, Colin Jones gives a gripping, superbly and intelligently illustrated account of the political, social and cultural history of France, placing an innovatory emphasis on the impact of regionalism, class, gender and race in French heritage. Ranging from prehistoric menhirs to the Pompidou Centre, from Louis XIV's Versailles to twentieth-century highrises, from Marie Antoinette to Marie Claire, The Cambridge Illustrated History of France is host to lively and penetrating new insights that take us through the shaping of France from the earliest times to the brink of a new millennium. Combining superb illustration with outstanding scholarship, the diversity of the French heritage--scientific and artistic, national and regional--is explored with an engrossing and accessible style. Special features on places, people and events, a glossary, and a further reading section enhance this engaging book that will appeal to history buffs and students of French history and culture. Colin Jones is also the author of the Longman Companion to the French Revolution and The Cultural Atlas of France.

Table of Contents

Preface	6	(1)
Foreword	7	(1)
E. Le Roy Ladurie
Introduction	8	(6)
France Before the Romans	14	(16)
Roman Gaul 55 BC to c. 500 AD	30	(18)
From Frankish Gaul to the Kingdom of West Francia c. 500 to 987	48	(26)
The Middle Ages 987 to 1328	74	(40)
Valois France: The Later Middle Ages and the Renaissance c. 1300 to c. 1600	114	(30)
From Counter-Reformation to Enlightenment c. 1610 to c. 1780	144	(32)
The Revolution and Beyond c. 1780 to 1851	176	(36)
From the Second Empire to World War I 1852 to 1914	212	(30)
France in Transition: World War I to the Liberation 1914 to 1944	242	(34)
Post-war France: Expansion and Beyond 1945 to 1981	276	(30)
France after 1981: The Mitterrand Years	306	(30)
Chronology	336	(2)
Picture Acknowledgements	338	(2)
Bibliography	340	(5)
Index	345