The return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis is another well known example of microhistory. This is a great book for historians because of style and research, but also for non-historians because it is a fascinating case and it’s lovely written. The book is…
Montaillou by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie – Cathars and Catholics in a French Village 1294-1324 – translated by Barbara Bray – is another book I read for my studies. First published in 1975 in French and translated into English a few years later, this was…
I read Europe Under Napoleon by Michael Broers for an essay. It is a very interesting book, written nicely, not dry at all. Of course, the subject, Napoleon, is fascinating too. I got another book of his, about Napoleon, for the essay and that one…
This book, The Napoleonic Empire by Geoffrey James Ellis is part of the Studies in the European History collection. It is a really good book, very well written, making it easy to read. I’ve enjoyed it. He talks about Napoleon’s legacy and that part was…
The French Revolution by William Doyle is quite a biased book, not to the standard I expected it to be. I will talk about two things from the book which stand out. ‘All power, all authority, all institutions were now provisional, valid only so long…
The French Revolution by Stephen Clarke has the very appropriate subtitle: and What Went Wrong. This is the 3rd book I read by Clarke and I will start reading the 4th one in a couple of months or so. All his books are hilarious and…
How the French Won Waterloo by Stephen Clarke – or Think They Did was published in the 200th Anniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo. It’s the second book I read by Clarke and it will not the last. His style is hilarious, I loved…
“You should not judge a book by its cover” is well known, but what about a title? 1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke sounded too funny not to borrow it from the library. I loved this book! It’s hilarious. I’m going to…