Description
Book Synopsis‘Majestic, ambitious’ Literary Review ____________________________________
We are endlessly fascinated by the French. We are fascinated by their way of life, their creativity and sophistication, and even their insistence that they are exceptional. But how did France become the country it is today, and what really sets it apart?
Historian Peter Watson sets out to answer these questions in this
dazzling history of France, taking us from the seventeenth century to the present day through the nation’s most influential thinkers. He opens the doors to the Renaissance salons that brought together poets, philosophers and scientists, and tells the forgotten stories of the extraordinary women who ran these institutions, fostering a culture of stylish intellectualism unmatched anywhere else in the world. It’
Trade Review‘
Majestic, ambitious . . . [Peter Watson] deserves admiration for the
grace and agility with which he interlinks the development of a vigorous cultural identity and the seismic shifts of French national history, continually lurching between triumph and disaster. I
mpressive enough in its scope, authority and sprightliness to leave us wondering whether a French writer could have managed the task quite as deftly’ * Literary Review *
‘An
encyclopaedic celebration of French intellectuals refusing to give up on universal principles . . . while remaining slim, bringing up well-behaved children and falling in love at every opportunity’ * The Times *
‘He unfurls his intellectual history in the form of
vivid biographies . . . [an] e
ngaging movement through time towards France’s recent reckonings with extremism, exceptionalism and empire . . .
perceptive’ * TLS *
'A love for France radiates from this book' * Financial Times *
