The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War

Robb, Graham

ISBN 10: 0393059731 / ISBN 13: 9780393059731

Published by W. W. Norton & Company, New York & London, 2007

About this Item

An unusual history of France, focusing on how at the time of the first cartographic surveys after the French revolution, France was less a unified country than a collection of tribes, clans and towns with little in common - including language or national identity. Two sections of photos: one 8-page b& w section between pages 142-143, and an 8-page section of color photos on light blue pages. Spine slightly cocked, small soiling to outside edges of book block; slight waviness, or indentations, at top of book block for most of the book, as if there was once a clamp on the top edge. 6¼ x 9½ inches, 455 pages, including notes, list of works cited, a general index and a geographical index.

Seller Inventory # 001176

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography from the Revolution to the First World War
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, New York & London
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393059731
• ISBN 13: 9780393059731
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First American Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Europe
  • France
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

A narrative of exploration―full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants―that explains the enduring fascination of France.

While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language.Graham Robb describes that unknown world in arresting narrative detail. He recounts the epic journeys of mapmakers, scientists, soldiers, administrators, and intrepid tourists, of itinerant workers, pilgrims, and herdsmen with their millions of migratory domestic animals. We learn how France was explored, charted, and colonized, and how the imperial influence of Paris was gradually extended throughout a kingdom of isolated towns and villages.The Discovery of France explains how the modern nation came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France―past and present―remains to be discovered. 8 pages of color and 8 pages of black-and-white illustrations

About the Author

Graham Robb is the author of several award-winning books on literature and history. His book The Discovery of France won both the Duff Cooper and Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prizes. For Parisians, the city of Paris awarded him the Grande Médaille de la Ville de Paris. He lives on the English–Scottish border.