France

by John Hardman , Language: English

A thought-provoking, authoritative biography of one of history’s most maligned rulersLouis XVI of France, who was guillotined in 1793 during the Revolution and Reign of Terror, is commonly portrayed in fiction and film either as a weak and stupid despot in thrall to his beautiful, shallow wife, Marie Antoinette, or as a cruel and treasonous tyrant. Historian John Hardman disputes both these versions in a fascinating new biography of the ill-fated monarch. Based in part on new scholarship that has emerged over the past two decades, Hardman’s illuminating study describes a highly educated ruler who, though indecisive, possessed sharp political insight and a talent for foreign policy; who often saw the dangers ahead but could not or would not prevent them; and whose great misfortune was to be caught in the violent center of a major turning point in history.H

by David Harvey , Language: English

Collecting David Harvey’s finest work on Paris during the second empire, Paris, Capital of Modernity offers brilliant insights ranging from the birth of consumerist spectacle on the Parisian boulevards, the creative visions of Balzac, Baudelaire and Zola, and the reactionary cultural politics of the bombastic Sacre Couer.

by Christian Freigang , Jean-Claude Schmitt , Language: German

Thema des Bandes sind die höfischen Inszenierungen im Spätmittelalter und ihre innere Kohärenz. Die spezifischen Repräsentationsmuster einzelner Höfe werden insbesondere auf ihre Zielsetzung befragt. Neben der Analyse einzelner Phänomene der höfischen Kultur widmen sich die Beiträge vor allem dem Zusammenwirken von Architektur und Kunst, Zeremoniell, Literatur und Musik am Hofe. Über eine bloße Betrachtung der Bildkünste hinaus spannt sich damit der methodische Rahmen hin zu einer interdisziplinären Untersuchung, in der historische Anthropologie, Musik und Literaturwissenschaft sowie Baugeschichte berücksichtigt werden.

by Catherine Hanley , Language: English

In 1215 a group of English barons, dissatisfied with the weak and despicable King John, decided that they needed a new monarch. They wanted a strong, experienced man, of royal blood, and they found him on the other side of the Channel: astonishingly, the most attractive candidate for the crown of England was Louis, eldest son and heir of the king of France.In this fascinating biography of England’s least-known “king”—and the first to be written in English—Catherine Hanley explores the life and times of “Louis the Lion” before, during, and beyond his quest for the English throne.

by Ryan P Freeburn , Language: English

Hugh of Amiens (c. 1085-1164) was an important intellectual figure in the twelfth century. During a long life he served as a cleric, Cluniac monk, abbot, and archbishop of Rouen. He wrote a number of works including poems, biblical exegesis, anti-heretical polemics, and most importantly one of the earliest collections of systematic theology, his Dialogues. This book examines all of Hugh’s writings to uncover a better understanding not only of this individual, but also of the twelfth-century as a whole, especially the theological preoccupations of the period, including the development of systematic theology and views on the differences of the monastic and clerical ways of life.

by Jochen Burgtorf , Paul Crawford , Helen Nicholson , Language: English

Seven hundred years after the dissolution of the order, the trial of the Templars still arouses enormous controversy and speculation. In October 1307, all the brothers of the military-religious order of the Temple in France were arrested on the instructions of King Philip IV and charged with heresy and other crimes. In 1312, Pope Clement V, at the Council of Vienne, dissolved the order. Since the 1970s, there has been increasing scholarly interest in the trial, and a series of books and articles have widened scholars’ understanding of causes of this notorious affair, its course and its aftermath.

by Tony Chafer , Language: English

In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War. Yet just fifteen years later France had decolonized, and by 1960 only a few small island territories remained under French control.

by Stuart Reid , Peter Dennis , Language: English

Providing a unique glimpse into the experiences of regular British and French infantry during the French and Indian War, Stuart Reid reveals what it was like to fight in three battles at the height of the struggle for Canada: La Belle-Famille, the Plains of Abraham and Sainte-Foy. In 1755, Britain and France both decided to escalate a low intensity frontier war that had started the previous year by dispatching regular troops to their respective colonies in North America. Far from home, both sides’ equipment and tactics were initially more suited to the European theatre.

by Kenneth Loiselle , Language: English

Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. In Brotherly Love, Kenneth Loiselle argues that Freemasonry is an ideal arena in which to explore the changing nature of male friendship in Enlightenment France. Freemasonry was the largest and most diverse voluntary organization in the decades before the French Revolution. At least fifty thousand Frenchmen joined lodges, the memberships of which ranged across the social spectrum from skilled artisans to the highest ranks of the nobility.

by Matthew Bennett , Language: English

by Éric Hazan , Language: English

In the history of European revolutions, the barricade is a glorious emblem, especially the barricades of Paris, which graced all the revolts of the nineteenth century. The barricade was always a makeshift construction, the word derives from barrique or barrel, but it served as an offensive tactic in narrow city streets, enmeshing the forces of repression. Barricades were also a theatrical stage, from where insurgents could harangue soldiers and subvert their allegiance, and their symbolic power remained alive in the historic French protests of May 1968 and the Occupy movements.

by Douglas Fermer , Language: English

The Franco-Prussian War was a turning point in the history of nineteenth-century Europe, and the Battle of Sedan was the pivotal event in that war. For the Germans their overwhelming victory symbolized the birth of their nation, forged in steel and tempered in the blood of the common enemy. For the French it was a defeat more complete and humiliating than Waterloo. Douglas Fermer’s fresh study of this traumatic moment in European history reconsiders how the mutual fear and insecurity of two rival nations tempted their governments to seek a solution to domestic tensions by waging war against each other.

by Gregor Dallas , Language: English

On the night of November 7, 1918, out of the fog of "No Man’s Land", French troops perceived the vague form of a white flag. Within four days Germany had signed the armistice at the forest outside Compigne. Renowned historian Gregor Dallas traces the transition from war to peace across Europe from the perspective of five capitals: Berlin, Paris, Washington, London, Moscow. In Berlin the cabarets and beer halls are open, while there is shooting in the streets. In Paris, the peacemakers have assembled to draft the Treaty of Versailles and create the League of Nations.

by Mark Braude , Language: English

A rollicking narrative history of Monte Carlo, capturing its nineteenth-century rise as the world’s first modern casino-resort and its Jazz Age heyday as infamous playground of the rich.Monte Carlo has long been known as a dazzling playground for the rich and famous. Less well known are the shrewd and often ruthless strategies that went into creating such a potent symbol of luxury and cosmopolitan glamour. As historian Mark Braude reveals in his entertaining and informative Making Monte Carlo, the world’s first modern casino-resort started as an unlikely prospect—with the legalization of gambling in tiny Monaco in 1855—and eventually emerged as the most glamorous gambling destination of the Victorian era.

by Max Harris , Language: English

For centuries, the Feast of Fools has been condemned and occasionally celebrated as a disorderly, even transgressive Christian festival, in which reveling clergy elected a burlesque Lord of Misrule, presided over the divine office wearing animal masks or women’s clothes, sang obscene songs, swung censers that gave off foul-smelling smoke, played dice at the altar, and otherwise parodied the liturgy of the church. Afterward, they would take to the streets, howling, issuing mock indulgences, hurling manure at bystanders, and staging scurrilous plays.

by E C Spary , Language: English

Feeding France is the first comprehensive study of the French food industry in the decades surrounding the French Revolution of 1789. Though the history of gastronomy and the restaurant have been explored by scholars, few are aware that France was also one of the first nations to produce industrial foods. In this time of political and social upheaval, chemists managed to succeed both as public food experts and as industrial food manufacturers. This book explores the intersection between knowledge, practice and commerce which made this new food expertise possible, and the institutional and experimental culture which housed it.

by Paul Sonnino , Language: English

The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask triumphantly solves an enduring puzzle that has stumped historians for centuries and seduced novelists and filmmakers to this day. Who was the man who was rumored to have been kept in prison and treated royally during much of the reign of Louis XIV while being forced to wear an iron mask? Could he possibly have been the twin brother of the Sun King? Like every other serious scholar, intrepid historian Paul Sonnino discounts this theory, instead taking the reader along on his adventures to uncover the truth behind this ancient enigma.

by G Charles Walton , Language: English

In the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, French revolutionaries proclaimed the freedom of speech, religion, and opinion. Censorship was abolished, and France appeared to be on a path towards tolerance, pluralism, and civil liberties. A mere four years later, the country descended into a period of political terror, as thousands were arrested, tried, and executed for crimes of expression and opinion.In Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution, Charles Walton traces the origins of this reversal back to the Old Regime.

by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone , Language: English

The riveting true story of mother-and-daughter queens Catherine de’ Medici and Marguerite de Valois, whose wildly divergent personalities and turbulent relationship changed the shape of their tempestuous and dangerous century.Set in magnificent Renaissance France, this is the story of two remarkable women, a mother and daughter driven into opposition by a terrible betrayal that threatened to destroy the realm.Catherine de’ Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for thirty years.

by Daniel Marston , Language: English

The French-Indian War was fought in the forests, open plains, and forts of the North American frontier. The French army, supported by North American tribes, was initially more successful than the British Army, who suffered from lack of experience at woodland fighting. This title explains the background to the wars and charts the military development of the British Army and the reforms that led to its eventual superiority. In both skirmishes in the forests of the frontier and great battles such as Louisbourg and Quebec, the British proved they had learnt well from their Native American allies.

by Norman L R Franks , Language: English

When Canadian troops and British Commandos made their now famous ‘reconnaissance in force’ against the harbor town of Dieppe on 19th August 1942, they were supported and protected by the largest array of Royal Air Force aircraft ever seen in WWII until that time. Air Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, AOC of Fighter Command’s No.11 Group, was given command of the air operation and had 46 Spitfire, 8 Hurricane, 3 Typhoon and 4 Mustang Squadrons under his direction, as well as 7 Boston and Blenheim squadrons of 2 Group and Fighter Command.

by Brendan Simms , Language: English

In 1815, the deposed emperor Napoleon returned to France and threatened the already devastated and exhausted continent with yet another war. Near the small Belgian municipality of Waterloo, two large, hastily mobilized armies faced each other to decide the future of Europe—Napoleon’s forces on one side, and the Duke of Wellington on the other.With so much at stake, neither commander could have predicted that the battle would be decided by the Second Light Battalion, King’s German Legion, which was given the deceptively simple task of defending the Haye Sainte farmhouse, a crucial crossroads on the way to Brussels.

by Sir Ranulph Fiennes , Language: English

Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ dynamic account of the Battle of Agincourt gives a unique perspective on one of the most significant battles in English history.On 25th October 1415, on a French hillside near the village of Agincourt, four men sheltered from the rain and prepared for battle. All four were English knights―ancestors of Sir Ranulph Fiennes―and part of the army of England’s King Henry V. Across the valley, four sons of the French arm of the Fiennes family were confident that the Dauphin’s army would win the day .

by Robert Latouche , Language: N/A