gridlore | From the Gauls to DeGaulle, my review of "A History of France" (Reply)

A History of France by John Julius Norwich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While Norwich is one of my favorite history authors, this one fell a bit flat for me. The problem is the sheer scope of the topic. Trying to write a history of France from the Gauls to DeGaulle either requires several volumes of skimming over a lot of things and here the latter path was taken.

For example, the 250 years of the Merovingian dynasty is reduced to a few paragraphs mentioning Clovis I as the first real king of France, and that Dagobert I did a lot to establish the Roman Church in Frankish lands, and had a piece of doggerel written about him. That's it.

The pattern continues through the book, which ends up being more about the rulers of France than the nation. I know it's an overview, but a few pages on the history of Piedmont and how it relates to France's growth; what the Huguenots wanted and who their leaders were, and the changes in French culture and industry that affected the direction of the nation. Even small pieces of this would add to the picture.

Still, it's a good read in Norwich's easy style. Thankfully, he provides footnotes to translate French quotes and does a good job of leading the reader through centuries of French leaders and the challenges they faced. So if you're a real student of French history, you can skip this one as it doesn't have anything you can't read about in more depth elsewhere. If you have a casual interest in France's backstory, this might be a good book for you.

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