Modern France

Julius Caesar, Lucretia, Cincinnatus, Augustus, the Gracchi brothers: Roman figures have had an extraordinary influence on modern republics from America to France. Here historian Jamie Gianoutsos traces the Roman republic and its afterlives through the revolutionary birth of modern republics in...

'This is the history we so badly needed' ANTONY BEEVOR 'Essential reading for understanding Asia's present' RICHARD OVERY A momentous new history of World War II in Asia. In the early twentieth century, from India to China, Western imperial powers dominated Asia. Then, in the 1930s, Japan began...

Francis I (1494-1547) was inconstant, amorous, hotheaded and flawed. Yet he was also arguably the most significant king that France ever had. This is his story. A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king, a man who was the exemplar of courtly and civilised behaviour throughout Europe. A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with.

The bestselling author of Catherine de Medici returns to sixteenth-century Europe in this evocative and entertaining biography that recreates a remarkable era of French history and brings to life a great monarch—Francis I—who turned France into a great nation. Catherine de Medici’s...

Bloomsbury presents Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror by Natasha Farrant, read by Becky King. 'Mirror, mirror on the wall... what makes a princess excellent?' An enchantress flings her magic mirror into our universe. Reflected in it are princesses who refuse to be pretty, polite or obedient...

“Who knew that such a tiny bottle housed so many secrets?” —Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home the Birkin Tilar J. Mazzeo, author of the New York Times bestseller The Widow Clicquot (an Amazon Best of the Month book in October 2008) returns with a captivating history of the world’s...

Brought to you by Penguin. I want to write a book about Vilhelm’s room and the events which took place in it, or arose from it; those that led to Lise’s death, which I have survived only so that I might write down the story of her and Vilhelm... The ripples from a breakup radiate outwards...

The Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller ‘Mosse is a master storyteller’ – Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe Bringing sixteenth-century France vividly to life, Kate Mosse’s historical epic The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love, betrayal, war and conspiracy. It is the first...

Une contribution au débat sur la laïcité en France dans laquelle l'auteur montre que ce concept, loin d'évacuer la question du sacré et de la reléguer dans le seul espace privé, peut être mieux compris qu'il ne l'a été majoritairement depuis un siècle, à travers la reconnaissance de son sens renvoyant à une spiritualité ouverte ainsi qu'au geste de la destruction des idoles.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Provence, 1970, a lively, dramatic account of the rise of French “nouvelle cuisine,” and the renegade chefs of the 1960s and 70s who revolutionized modern cooking.In The Secret History of French Cooking, Luke Barr takes readers inside the...

"Narrator Stephanie Racine instills an enthusiastic tone of wonder at the transformative quality of books in this tale with a beautiful dreamlike quality." -- AudioFile Magazine For fans of Amélie and The Little Paris Bookshop, a modern fairytale about a French woman whose life is turned upside...

Bloomsbury presents Crescent Dawn by Si Sheppard, read by Mark Elstob. A groundbreaking new history of the wars of the Ottoman Expansion, a truly global conflagration that crisscrossed three continents and ultimately defined the borders and future of a modern Europe. The determined attempt to...

Traditionally known as a dirty, congested, and dangerous city, 19th Century Paris was transformed in an extraordinary period from 1848 to 1870, when the government launched a huge campaign to build streets, squares, parks, churches, and public buildings. The Louvre Palace was expanded, Notre-Dame Cathedral was restored and the French masterpiece of the Second Empire, the Opra Garnier, was built.

Today, it is difficult to imagine a living room without a sofa. When the first sofas on record were delivered in 17th-century France, the result was a radical reinvention of interior space. Symptomatic of a new age of casualness and comfort, the sofa ushered in an era known as the golden age of conversation; as the first piece of furniture designed for two, it was also considered an invitation to seduction. With the sofa came many other changes in interior space we now take for granted: private bedrooms, bathrooms, and the original living rooms.

Brought to you by Penguin. The modern era saw the emergence of individuals who had command over a terrifying array of instruments of control, persuasion and death. Whole societies were re-shaped and wars fought, often with a merciless contempt for the most basic norms. At the summit of these...

Bloomsbury presents Va-Va-Voom by Tom Williams, read by Luis Soto. ‘Excellent' – Simon Kuper, author of the bestselling FOOTBALL AGAINST THE ENEMY ‘The definitive story of how French football came of age’ – Christian Karembeu THE PLAYERS, THE TEAMS, THE GOALS, THE GAMES, THE SCANDALS...

Journey through sweeping European history as a fractured Roman outpost transforms into an unstoppable cultural superpower. Experience the epic, immersive rise and fall of absolute monarchs, radical philosophers, and fierce revolutionaries who forged a modern nation in blood and brilliant ideas...

Master two millennia of epic European history in this fast-paced narrative of royal conquests and bloody revolutions. Perfect for your daily commute or travel preparation, this immersive audio journey transforms a complex past into an engaging saga. Watch as a patchwork of Celtic tribes and...

Alistair Horne is a leading scholar of French history. Here he trains his sights on one of the most compelling figures of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte. Far from a mere dictator, Napoleon was a military, political and social visionary whose legacy can still be felt in France and all over the world. Horne examines the one-time emperor at his most human, from his greatest triumphs to his disastrous failures.

Experience the gripping political upheaval of a bloody revolution that shattered a monarchy and birthed modern politics. Perfect for your daily commute or a session of deep, focused learning, this immersive historical narrative transports you from the opulent halls of the Old Regime to the...