The British in France: Visitors and Residents since the Revolution - Hardcover

Thorold, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847252346 ISBN 13: 9781847252340

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2008

Synopsis

Countless British visit France each year and over 100,000 live there permanently, successors to generations of their countrymen. This book, starting with the brief and poignant Peace of Amiens, 1801-1803, studies who they were - ranging from businessmen and artisans to rentiers, invalids and tourists - where they went and the reasons why. While some went for fun, to Paris 'where the social arts are carried to perfection' or to Monte Carlo, Biarritz or Deauville, the invalids favoured the Pyrenees or Savoy, making Pau the 'ville anglaise'. Bordeaux was an example of another town where the British attained great influence because of the wine trade. Many also settled in France to save money. The Channel Coast becoming popular with those who fled creditors or disgrace at home (Beau Brummell and Oscar Wilde are examples of this group). Food, architecture and the arts more generally attracted many, as did the climate of the Riviera.
The revolutions in travel brought about by railways, motoring and aircraft provide a constant theme. Another very important aspect covered is the relationship, both in general and personal terms, between the French and the British. How, for instance, the local British stimulated a passion for sport in France.
A variety of sources including British and French books, letters, journals and periodicals, supply background, as do Foreign Office archives particularly in times of crisis such as 1848, 1870 and 1940.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Thorold was born in London and educated in the United States and Britain, reading history at New College, Oxford. His professional career was spent in the City as an insurance broker and director of a number of companies. He lives with his wife in London and France. His other books include The London Rich: The Creation of a Great City from 1666 to the Present and The Motoring Age: The Automobile and Britain 1896-1939.

Review

"An intriguing analysis." - Destination France

"Learned, lively and eminently readable" - Spectator

"A rigorous investigation - incorporating ancient documents and painstaking research" - French Magazine

Mention —Book News, February 2009

"Elegant and comprehensive" - The Independent

"Engaging, illuminating, shrewd and hugely enjoyable" - Times Literary Supplement

Title mention in Sunday Times.

"There have been other books on this subject in recent years but none, I think, quite so packed with names. With a bibliography extending over 15 pages and helpful notes, this work will be a wonderful source book for anyone attempting further exploration of the complex relationship between the British and their 'Sweet Enemies'." - History Today

'[Thorold] writes well and entertainingly, without censure but with an obvious pleasure which he transmits to his readers.' - Contemporary Review

Mention –Book News, February 2009

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1847252346
• ISBN 13: 9781847252340
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296