France: An Adventure History

Author Graham Robb
Narrator Tom Lawrence
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Run Time 17 hours and 2 minutes
Format Audio
Genre European history, History, Places and peoples: general and pictorial works, Politics and government, Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions, Social and cultural history, Society and Social Sciences, Travel and holiday, Travel writing.

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What to expect

A SPECTATOR and PROSPECT Book of the Year

'Ceaselessly interesting, knowledgeable and evocative' Spectator
'A fresh way to write history' Alan Johnson
'A quirky, amused, erudite homage to France . . . ambitious and original' The Times
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France: An Adventure History is a profoundly original and endlessly entertaining history of France, from the first century BC to the present day, based on countless new discoveries and thirty years of exploring France on foot, by bicycle and in the library.

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. Along the way, readers will find the usual faces, events and themes of French history – Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Résistance, the Tour de France – but all presented in a shining new light.

Graham Robb does not offer a standard dry list of facts and dates, but instead a panorama of France, teeming with characters, full of stories, journeys and coincidences, giving readers a thrilling sense of discovery and enlightenment. France: An Adventure History is a vivid, living history of one of the world’s most fascinating nations by a ceaselessly entertaining writer in complete command of subject and style.
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'A rich and vibrant narrative . . . clear-eyed but imaginative storytelling' Financial Times
'Full of life' Prospect

Critics Review

Robb’s concise and fast-paced writing pedals along with never a dull paragraph . . . a dazzling and moving contribution to a long tradition.
Sunday Times
A stunning history of France… Graham Robb deserves to be a national treasure.
Spectator
A quirky chronicle of our neighbour . . . a witty, free-ranging homage to the French people.
The Times
Delightful, discerning, and charmingly irreverent.
Kirkus
Robb’s perspectives are refreshing as well as deeply researched.
Booklist
With joy, curiosity and more than a dash of ambition Robb brings 2,000 years of French history to life.
Washington Post
A complete history of France from Caesar’s time to now . . . Thanks to the way Robb does his research – often literally getting on his own bike to sniff things out – it is tres facile to go along with him.
Prospect
Graham Robb writes history on two wheels and in four dimensions.
Wall Street Journal

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