French Mind

'Majestic, ambitious' Literary Review ____________________________________ We are endlessly fascinated bytheFrench. We are fascinated by their way of life, their creativity and sophistication, and even their insistence that they are exceptional. But how did France becomethecountry it is today, and what really sets it apart? Historian Peter Watson sets out to answerthese questions in this dazzling history of France, taking us fromtheseventeenth century tothepresent day throughthenation's most influential thinkers.He opensthedoors totheRenaissance salons that brought together poets, philosophers and scientists, and tellsthe forgotten stories ofthe extraordinary women who ranthese institutions, fostering a culture of stylish intellectualism unmatched anywhere else intheworld. It's a story that takes us into Bohemian cafés and cabarets, into chic Parisian high culture via French philosophies of food, fashion and sex, and through two explosive revolutions. The French Mindis a history propelled bythe writers, revolutionaries and painters who loved, inspired and rivalled one another over four hundred years. It documentstheshaping of a nationwhose 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