He tells of the opening of Louis XIV’s gardens at Versailles which was overrun by a n unruly mob, a faint premonition of the revolution to come. His history rock-hound nuggets are the stars of the show, providing him with the conversation pieces that give this book its unique flavor.

Dream and romance have conditioned myriad encounters with Venice across the centuries, but the city's story embodies another kind of experience altogether - the hard reality of an independent state built on conquest, profit and entitlement and on the toughness and resilience of a free people. Chief among these archival finds in my view — since it involved real historical sleuthing and mystery-solving on Robb’s part — is “the tree in the center of the country” that appeared as such on maps of France in the 16th and 17th centuries only thereafter to disappear. Packed full of discoveries' - The Sunday Times'A gorgeous tapestry of insights, stories and surprises' - Fintan O'Toole'A rich and vibrant narrative . The best history books tell good stories of individuals, the kind that can be repeated at dinner parties or on podcasts, and this book has plenty of those.I was not interested in all of the chapters, but there were many that were very cool and covered interesting topic (my favorite was the one about the tree). Since this isn’t a movie, it’s not as cut and dry as finding the one piece that unlocks the exact location. Graham Robb and his wife cycle all over modern France, finding traces of past history, adventures had by people who may now be more myth than reality to us. 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. Other than Napoleon, the French Revolution, and Vichy France, I didn’t know much of anything about France’s history.

Ireland is an island nation, inextricably linked with and dependent upon the sea which surrounds us. 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. I definitely will read his other book "The Discovery of France" which covers the French Revolution to World War I. There were many topics I thought would have been covered or explored in more depth, and too many of the digressions were dull or uninteresting.He doesn’t say this, but his ride that day would have taken him by the Chateau de Joux, formerly a fortress which imprisoned the self-surrendered revolutionary leader of Haiti, Toussaint Louverture, until his death.

From the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris, events and themes of French history may be familiar - Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France - but all are presented in a shining new light by Graham Robb. A stunningly illustrated history of Venice, from its beginnings as 'La Serenissima' - 'the Most Serene Republic' - to the Italian city that continues to enchant visitors today. From the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris, events and themes of French history may be familiar – Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France – but all are presented in a shining new light. 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.

The first stretches from ancient Gaul to the Renaissance; next, the second chronicles the time from Louis XIV to the Second Empire; and finally, part three covers the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Republics.

He divides his book into three loose chronological parts, “Ancient Gaul to the Renaissance,” “Louis XIV to the Second Empire,” and “The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Republics. Beginning with the Roman army’s first recorded encounter with the Gauls and ending with the gilet jaunes protests in the era of Emmanuel Macron, each chapter is an adventure in its own right. An understanding of French history is useful too, as the author just throws you into the topic, with little of a back story. 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). However I found the sections where Robb digressed into personal history a little twee and the endless decriptiosn of cycling and trains were too much.

For a great read, I would make one critique: I would have liked to have read a bit more about French cultural history. From the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris, events and themes of French history may be familiar – Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France – but all are presented in a shining new light by Graham Robb. From the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris, events and themes of French history may be familiar - Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France - but all are presented in a shining new light.