France

"Always a warm, welcoming guide, John Julius Norwich takes us on a historical tour of France from its earliest days to the twenty-first century . . . A highly entertaining introduction to a fascinating nation - History Revealed Magazine For his final book, the late Norwich tackled the dauntingly vast subject of two millennia of French history with admirable lightness and urbanity. There is the odd whiff, probably deliberate, of 1066 and All That - ""The Capetians had steadily built up France, transforming it from a Carolingian custard into a nation"" - and his comic footnotes deserve a review of their own - The Daily Telegraph, Summer Reads Norwich romps through French history with lots of good stories: philandering kings, dread plagues and legendary dinners - The Times A richly illuminating work . . . Norwich was a wonderful military historian - Times Literary Supplement Almost the best thing in it is the author's short epilogue, 'The Essence of France', in which he listed what he loved most about that enchanting, if occasionally exasperating, country - its architecture, its painting and its music. These were among Norwich's greatest passions, which he invariably conveyed with authority, charm and wit - History Today A story told with charm and obvious enthusiasm for the subject ... My children constantly ask why the GCSE syllabus cannot be an introduction to British history rather than a somewhat esoteric dive into Weimar, Nazi Germany and Russia. What they want is a comprehensive, approachable and enjoyable survey of the story of our islands - and that is exactly what John Julius Norwich has written about France . . . The attraction of this commendable short history is that it's as entertaining as it is informative, written with fluency, wit and a nicely understated humour: a real pleasure-almost compelling-to read - Country Life"