France has long been feted for its unsurpassed cultural and historical riches. Gothic architecture, Louis XIV opulence, revolutionary spirit, café society . . . what could be more quintessentially French? Rarely do we think of France as a melting pot, and yet historian Colin Jones asserts it’s no less a mélange of foreign ingredients than the United States—and by some measures, more so.
The Shortest History of France reveals a nation whose politics and society have always been shaped by global forces. With up-to-date scholarship that avoids the traps of national exceptionalism, Jones reminds us that it was only after the first millennium of French history—after constant subjugation to the Roman Empire and Germanic tribal forces—that a nation-state began to emerge, while absorbing influences from its European neighbors. Later, the Crusades and subsequent overseas colonization paved the way for cultural exchange with Africa, the Caribbean, East Asia, and elsewhere.
France has been home to the Enlightenment, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Paris Agreement . . . but also to the Vichy regime, the Algerian War, and persistent racism and civil unrest. By turns serious and spirited, The Shortest History of France is a dynamic, global story for our times.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
By:
Colin Jones
Imprint: The Experiment LLC
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 0
Dimensions:
Height: 198mm,
Width: 132mm,
Spine: 23mm
Weight: 275g
ISBN: 9798893030129
Series: The Shortest History Series
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 25 April 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: The Hexagon in Global Context The First Millennium, 52BCE–1000CE France Emergent, 1000–1500 New Worlds, 1500–1720 France Goes Global, 1720–1850 Imperial France’s German Problem, 1850–1940 Resetting the Nation, 1940–1989 Memories and Prospects, 1989–the present Bibliography Acknowledgments
Colin Jones is Emeritus Professor of History at Queen Mary University of London and visiting professor at the University of Chicago. He is a fellow of the British Academy, former president of the Royal Historical Society, and officier in the Ordre des Palmes académiques. He is the author and editor of many works on French history, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of France, The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon, Paris: Biography of a City (awarded the Enid MacLeod Prize of the Franco-British Society), The Smile Revolution in 18th-Century Paris, Versailles, and The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris.
Reviews for The Shortest History of France: From Roman Gaul to Revolution and Cultural Radiance - A Global Story for Our Times
A marvelous, engaging, and constantly enlightening story.--Literary Review on The Smile Revolution The historian Colin Jones has a gift for examining events afresh.--New Statesman on The Fall of Robespierre Vital, incisive, revelatory.--Hilary Mantel on 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris
