French history: first inhabitants

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The earliest discoveries of man in France are the Neanderthals. They hunted with stone and bone tools, and lived in the mouths of caves. Cro-Magnon man arrived about 30,000 years ago. They were intelligent, knew how to make fire, wore animal skins and made fine tools from ivory, bone and stone, and left beautiful paintings on cave walls. This is the first known art. Little else is known until the Celtic Gauls moved in between 1500 and 500 BC. They had iron weapons and wheels. They divided the land and were the first European farmers. In 56 BC the Romans invaded, defeated the Gauls, introduced Christianity and made it a Roman province for 450 years. The remains of their stone building can still be seen in many areas. After Rome fell, new groups including the Franks entered and ruled under the Merovingian and Carolingian reigns from the 5th to 10th centuries. They were attacked by Muslin armies until their defeat by Charles Martel in 732 AD. His grandson Charlemagne (768-814) extended the boundaries and was crowned emperor in 800. The next invaders were the Vikings (Norsemen) who took control of the the area now known as Normandy (10th century). The Capetian dynasty was founded with the election of Hugh Capet in 987. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, conquered England in 1066. With the marriage of his descendent Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine (1154), the wars for control of much of what is now France began and lasted centuries, including the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) ending with Joan of Arc lifting the siege at Orléans and inspiring the French forces to eventually expel the English. The Renaissance kings (Francis I 1515-1547) who followed began the long process of consolidating power and making France the greatest country in Europe.

French history: kings, emperors and revolution

From the height of the political and cultural power of Louis XIV (1643-1715), France has seen the devastation of the French Revolution which ended the monarchy, the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte which covered most of Europe until his defeat in 1815, and two world wars fought on her land. Charles de Gaulle, who led the French resistance during WWII, in 1958 became the first president of the Fifth French Republic. The history of France is most easily understood through biography. French history incorporates general history reference works on this page, and then on the following pages biography books organized under a complete list of French kings by house (i.e., Capetian 987-1328, Valois 1328-1589, and Bourbon 1589-1792 including Henry IV to Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, plus restoration kings Louis XVIII and Louis-Philip), French History: French Revolution, emperors Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III, and French History: French Republics including a complete list of French presidents. French history also includes pages with biography and reference books for the history of art, architecture, French fashion, and interior design. Biography books in each section are listed chronologically for easy access. (Complete list at Bookstore Directory).

French history: wives, mistresses and war

French historical biography books are often more compelling than fiction. These men are rarely flawless, although there were pious kings, some prompted to lead crusades, one was even a canonized saint (Louis IX). Marriages were political and while some ended in love, more often it meant love affairs and mistresses (Henri IV, e.g., is thought to have had 56!) who were sometimes powerful and always fascinating in their own right: Diane de Poitiers (Henry II), Madame de Pompadour (Louis XV), Madame du Barry (Louis XV), Marie Walewska (Napoleon Bonaparte). There are also accounts of great sacrifice like Joan of Arc who made Charles VII king; scandal (Marie-Therese); intrigue (Catherine De'Medici) and political power (Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Jules Mazerin, Talleyrand). While Salic Law kept women from inheriting the throne, it could not keep them from becoming centers of power (Madames Roland, Staël). There are horrors: the battles of Crecy and Poitiers, the Saint Bartholomew Massacre, the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the French Revolution.

French history: the arts

Garden at Giverny, 1900 Monet, Claude Buy this Oversized Art Print at AllPosters.com But the history of France is much more than politics. There are the amazing stories of those who brought France to the heights of glory in the architecture of the great cathedrals, the chateaux of the Loire Valley and Palace of Versailles; the art of Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Ingres, Rodin and the Impressionists; the music of Lully, Saint-Saens, Chopin and Debussy. The standards by which the arts are judged are filled with French masters: the couture of Christian Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent; the leather of Hermes, Louis Vuitton; the decorative arts expressed in furniture (Boulle, Chevigny, Riesener, Jacob); textiles (Gobelins, Savonnerie, Beauvais, Aubusson); porcelain (Sevres, Limoges, Bernardaud), crystal (Baccarat, Saint Louis, Daum, Lalique) and silver (Christofle, Puiforcat). Don't wait. Start with one fascinating biography and I know you'll be back for more!

French history: general reference

For the first French kings, go to Capetian Reign. To find biographies and a complete directory of book categories available, please select Bookstore Directory.

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