The French Mind: 400 Years of Romance, Revolution and Renewal

‘Majestic, ambitious’Literary Review _________________________________________________________________________________________ We are endlessly fascinated bytheFrench. We are fascinated by their way of life, their creativity, sophistication and self-assurance, and even their insistence that they are exceptional. But how did France becomethecountry it is today, and what really sets it apart? Journalist and historian Peter Watson sets out to answerthese questions inTheFrenchMind,a dazzling history of France that takes us fromtheseventeenth century tothepresent day throughthenation’s most influential thinkers.He opensthedoors totheRenaissance salons that were a breeding ground for poets, philosophers and scientists, and tellsthe forgotten stories ofthe extraordinarysuccession of women who ranthese institutions, fostering a culture of stylish intellectualism unmatched anywhere else intheworld. 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, while growing unrest hastens the bloody birth of a republic. Fromthe1789revolution tothe country’s occupation by Nazi Germany, Watson argues that a unique series of devastating military defeats helped shape the resilient, proud, innovative character of the French. Thisis a history of breathtaking ambition, propelled bythecharacters Watson brings to vivid life:thewriters, 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, rooted in the Enlightenment and French Revolution, 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