The Shortest History of France: From Roman Gaul to Revolution and Cultural Radiance - A Global Story for Our Times (The Shortest History Series)
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France is the most visited country in the world, thanks to its unsurpassed cultural and historical riches. Gothic architecture, Louis XIV opulence, revolutionary spirit, café society, haute cuisine and couture . . . what could be more quintessentially French?
Rarely, however, do we think of France as a melting pot, and yet historian Colin Jones asserts it’s no less a mélange of foreign ingredients than the United States, and by some measures more. As nationalism and anti-immigration rhetoric surge in France (and elsewhere), The Shortest History of France presents a portrait of a nation whose politics and society have always been shaped by global forces. Grounded in up-to-date historical scholarship that avoids the traps of national exceptionalism, Jones reminds us that it was only after the first millennium of French history—following constant subjugation to the Roman Empire, Germanic invaders, and the Holy Roman Empire—that a nation-state began to emerge. Even 2
then, regions of France were independent and more closely linked to neighboring states. The medieval crusades and then overseas colonization were two further vectors of global connection, admitting Islamic, North African, and Caribbean influences.
France has been home to the Enlightenment, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and The Paris Agreement. Meanwhile, its darker moments have included the Vichy regime and the Algerian War, along with persistent racism, police brutality, and civil unrest. From the serious to the sublime, The Shortest History of France is a dynamic, global story enhanced with touches of cultural radiance—truly a retelling for our times.
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Colin Jones is Emeritus Professor of History at Queen Mary University of London and Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago. He is Fellow of the British Academy, former President of the Royal Historical Society, and Officier in the Ordre des Palmes académiques. He is the author and editor of many works on French history, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of France (CUP, 1994), The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon (Penguin, 2002); Paris: Biography of a City (Penguin, 2004: awarded the Enid MacLeod Prize of the Franco-British Society); The Smile Revolution in 18th-Century Paris (OUP, 2014); Versailles (Head of Zeus [UK] and Basic Books [USA], 2018); and The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris (OUP, 2021).
