Parlez-vous Histoire?

October 20, 2008 10:22 PM

What are some good books in English about French history and culture?

I don't speak or read French, but I'm suddenly interested in learning more about French history and culture. There are plenty of books on the French Revolution and Napoleon, but what about everything else? I'm more interested France from the industrial revolution through to the present, but anything goes. Bonus points for books available on Kindle.

posted by b1tr0t to society & culture (11 comments total)

Emile Zola - for example, The Ladies' Paradise, or Nana. Minutely observed slices of late 19th century French life.
posted by Methylviolet at 11:00 PM on October 20, 2008

Theodore Zeldin's books on France are probably the gold standard, b1tr0t. The French deals largely with the contemporary French and their habits, opinions, concerns, and history secondarily as a way to inform those things. You might also look into Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon (available on Kindle). Gopnik was the Paris correspondent for The New Yorker from 1995 to 2000; the book collects his essays.
posted by cgc373 at 2:14 AM on October 21, 2008

There's a reason for there being so many books on the French Revolution and Napoleon - 1789 - 1815 echoes through French history to this day and has had a defining influence on everything that's happened since. To cut through the huge amount there is in this area I would reccomend William Boyle, either The Oxford History of the French Revolution or his Short Introduction . . .

France: The Dark Years is the most readable inroard I've come across for the history of France in WW2, the Vichy government, resistance and liberation. Which is an area that sheds a lot of light on French history in both directions, and is often misrepresented, differently represented or thinly covered in general Anglophone history books . . .

For a more light hearted note, Talk to the Snail is a very funny, well informed, short and easy to read book of judgement on the essential 'Frenchness' of the French.

Finally, imho the most essential piece of cultural observation on France in the past 30 years for an outsider to look at is the film La Haine which gives a brutally blunt perspective on the issues of immigration in modern France, which is once more an area which recieves disproportionately less interest in the English language compared to the weight of the 'issue' in France . . .
posted by protorp at 2:49 AM on October 21, 2008

The Discovery of France by Graham Robb. Fantastic book.
posted by fire&wings at 3:51 AM on October 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Adam Gopnik writes about contemporary French politics and culture. He is a reporter for the New Yorker, where you'll find his best stuff (probably all on their website), and his books tend to focus on how an American in Paris understands French culture. He used to be the New Yorker's art critic and now writes all the time about French culture, and he's an excellent writer.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 4:57 AM on October 21, 2008

W.H. Lewis (brother of C.S.) wrote a bunch of books on seventeenth century France. Most notable is The Splendid Century, but really, they are all an utter pleasure to read.

Seconding Discovery of France. Very unexpected book.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:53 AM on October 21, 2008

I second Zeldin and Gopnik; Richard Cobb is also superb.
posted by languagehat at 12:06 PM on October 21, 2008

I'd recommend any of Eugen Weber's books. Great reading, and he was a scholar on France that got a lot of respect and critical acclaim from the French themselves. Totally unrelated, but he also created and hosted the coolest television show EVAR. ymmv
posted by seasparrow at 12:30 PM on October 21, 2008

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
posted by b1tr0t at 7:51 AM on October 24, 2008

France is the main focus of the A History of Private Life series, published in English by Harvard University Press. You might like to check out volumes four and five.
posted by Great Insect Task Force Comet Ranger at 6:42 PM on October 26, 2008

Also, not a book, but you may be interested in France Since 1871 at Open Yale Courses. Audio and video are available for all of the 24 class sessions, and there is also a syllabus.
posted by Great Insect Task Force Comet Ranger at 9:17 PM on October 27, 2008