Of France’s recent history of disiputes between the left and right, of violence against immigrants, and often flaring general populist grievances against the governments, Robb tries to put them in an historical context of France’s turbulent history.

He helped her with her French, and they played are usually dismissed, but Robb notes that she was honest and had no career nor political reputation to defend, as did many biographers of Napoleon. When faced with personal loss, Catherine finds comfort and connection in the shared lives of the people, animals and wild landscapes of Shetland. First couple of chapters were needed to me to appreciate the style and the book came into its stride from the discussion about the tree at the centre of France - spotted on an old map and one of the places our author went to investigate. If you are looking for a general overview of the history of the country, you would be better served by more traditional works.

While readers will find the usual faces, events and themes of French history --- Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the Vichy regime and La Résistance, the Tour de France --- many new events, locales and individuals are explored as well. It is fun and filled with interesting information and may even make you smile or be inspired to take a bike ride. The book is divided into key periods in French history as a starting point with intersections of Robb's adventures in that part of the region. He looks for roads that might have been ancient Roman paths or supply routes during the Hundred Years War.

More than 27’000 were killed in twelve hours, which is about half the number of American soldiers killed in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975. He connects the land to its history in a way that made me want to fly to France and see if I could follow his trail. There was no drop off in quality between the first and the last essay; each were as good as the last. For that really is the lingering impression of this book: in whatever ephemeral, run-of-the-mill place you happen to be, it may have been at one point either the location of a momentous event buried by the sands of time, or it may have been visited by — or was maybe even the home of — someone who enjoyed a moment of celebrity in some past era.

France, an Adventure History” is a disjointed series of chapters, covered bits and pieces of the author’s thirty years of bicycling and journeying throughout France. He and teacher Eileen wrote extensively to each other, and it is through these letters and Frank's journals that we gain a remarkable insight into life during these times.

I definitely will read his other book "The Discovery of France" which covers the French Revolution to World War I. Though possibly the biggest highlight was the chapter on Napoleon and particular his exile on St Helena in the South Atlantic where he met and befriended the young child, Betsy Balcombe.To fully appreciate what I mean, perhaps a few other synonyms would help: lost, annoyed, impatient, or desperate for coherence. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from. While at times well written, the book bounced around from Julius Caesar to modern times and covering only select regions, episodes, and characters, somewhat connected to France. His 2007 book The Discovery of France won both the Duff Cooper and Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prizes.

Please, dear stranger, do not confuse this with what Robb does from beginning to end, which was to follow French history from Vercingetorix's Gaul all the way to Macron's France (the latter is meant without offence). Beginning with the Roman army's first recorded encounter with the Gauls and ending with the Gilets Jaunes protests in the era of Emmanuel Macron, each chapter is an adventure in its own right. Packed full of discoveries' - The Sunday Times'A gorgeous tapestry of insights, stories and surprises' - Fintan O'Toole'A rich and vibrant narrative . Part travelogue and part essay, this is a lively and thought-provoking homage to the complex and inimitable country that is France.From pre Roman Gaul to the present day challenges, tensions and inconsistencies of French society, the journey takes you through the lesser known and often amusing aspects of French history.