Description
'Majestic, ambitious' Literary Review
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We are endlessly fascinated by the French. We are fascinated by their way of life, their creativity and sophistication, and even their insistence that they are exceptional. But how did France become the country it is today, and what really sets it apart?
Historian Peter Watson sets out to answer these questions in this dazzling history of France, taking us from the seventeenth century to the present day through the nation's most influential thinkers. He opens the doors to the Renaissance salons that brought together poets, philosophers and scientists, and tells the forgotten stories of the extraordinary women who ran these institutions, fostering a culture of stylish intellectualism unmatched anywhere else in the world. It's a story that takes us into Bohemian cafes and cabarets, into chic Parisian high culture via French philosophies of food, fashion and sex, and through two explosive revolutions.
The French Mind is a history propelled by the writers, revolutionaries and painters who loved, inspired and rivalled one another over four hundred years. It documents the shaping of a nation whose global influence, in art, culture and politics, cannot be overstated.
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'An encyclopaedic celebration of French intellectuals refusing to give up on universal principles, while remaining slim, bringing up well-behaved children and falling in love at every opportunity' The Times
'An engaging movement through time towards France's recent reckonings with extremism, exceptionalism and empire' TLS
About the Author
Peter Watson was born in 1943 and was educated at universities in Durham, London and Rome. He has been on the staff of the Sunday Times and The Times, and has written for many other newspapers. He is the author of over a dozen books including Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud. He lives in London.
Reviews
'Majestic, ambitious . . . [Peter Watson] deserves admiration for the grace and agility with which he interlinks the development of a vigorous cultural identity and the seismic shifts of French national history, continually lurching between triumph and disaster. Impressive enough in its scope, authority and sprightliness to leave us wondering whether a French writer could have managed the task quite as deftly' * Literary Review *
'An encyclopaedic celebration of French intellectuals refusing to give up on universal principles . . . while remaining slim, bringing up well-behaved children and falling in love at every opportunity' * The Times *
'He unfurls his intellectual history in the form of vivid biographies . . . [an] engaging movement through time towards France's recent reckonings with extremism, exceptionalism and empire . . . perceptive' * TLS *
'A love for France radiates from this book' * Financial Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9781471128981
Author Peter Watson
Format Paperback
Page Count 848
Imprint Simon & Schuster Ltd
Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 51mm
____________________________________
We are endlessly fascinated by the French. We are fascinated by their way of life, their creativity and sophistication, and even their insistence that they are exceptional. But how did France become the country it is today, and what really sets it apart?
Historian Peter Watson sets out to answer these questions in this dazzling history of France, taking us from the seventeenth century to the present day through the nation's most influential thinkers. He opens the doors to the Renaissance salons that brought together poets, philosophers and scientists, and tells the forgotten stories of the extraordinary women who ran these institutions, fostering a culture of stylish intellectualism unmatched anywhere else in the world. It's a story that takes us into Bohemian cafes and cabarets, into chic Parisian high culture via French philosophies of food, fashion and sex, and through two explosive revolutions.
The French Mind is a history propelled by the writers, revolutionaries and painters who loved, inspired and rivalled one another over four hundred years. It documents the shaping of a nation whose global influence, in art, culture and politics, cannot be overstated.
__________________________________________
'An encyclopaedic celebration of French intellectuals refusing to give up on universal principles, while remaining slim, bringing up well-behaved children and falling in love at every opportunity' The Times
'An engaging movement through time towards France's recent reckonings with extremism, exceptionalism and empire' TLS
About the Author
Peter Watson was born in 1943 and was educated at universities in Durham, London and Rome. He has been on the staff of the Sunday Times and The Times, and has written for many other newspapers. He is the author of over a dozen books including Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud. He lives in London.
Reviews
'Majestic, ambitious . . . [Peter Watson] deserves admiration for the grace and agility with which he interlinks the development of a vigorous cultural identity and the seismic shifts of French national history, continually lurching between triumph and disaster. Impressive enough in its scope, authority and sprightliness to leave us wondering whether a French writer could have managed the task quite as deftly' * Literary Review *
'An encyclopaedic celebration of French intellectuals refusing to give up on universal principles . . . while remaining slim, bringing up well-behaved children and falling in love at every opportunity' * The Times *
'He unfurls his intellectual history in the form of vivid biographies . . . [an] engaging movement through time towards France's recent reckonings with extremism, exceptionalism and empire . . . perceptive' * TLS *
'A love for France radiates from this book' * Financial Times *
Book Information
ISBN 9781471128981
Author Peter Watson
Format Paperback
Page Count 848
Imprint Simon & Schuster Ltd
Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 51mm
