The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon: The New Penguin History of France

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There can be few more mesmerizing historical narratives than the story of how the dazzlingly confident and secure monarchy Louis XIV, "the Sun King", left to his successors in 1715 became the discredited, debt-ridden failure toppled by Revolution in 1789. The further story of the bloody unravelling of the Revolution until its seizure by Napoleon is equally astounding. This work describes the whole period. Jones' key point in this narrative is that France was not doomed to Revolution and that the "ancien regime" did remain dynamic and innovatory, twisting and turning until finally stoven in by the intolerable costs and humiliation of its wars with Britain.

Reviews

"The fullest and most reliable history we have of eighteenth-century France." --William Doyle, Independent

"This is a work that merits the French designation magistral: masterly and authoritative." --Robin Buss, Financial Times

Author Bio

Colin Jones is Professor of History at the University of Warwick and is now writing PARIS- A HISTORY for Allen Lane.