1000 Years of Annoying the French

Informative and funny..

This is a wonderfully entertaining jibe and yet long and informative history of the quirks of Anglo-French relations over 1000 years. The author shows how gullible minds on both sides of the Channel have been embedded with half-truths over the years. But it is not just a regurgitation of Anglo-French history as we usually know it - every page is loaded with lesser-known and fascinating snippets ranging from certain unpleasant facts about the Bayeux Tapestry, the betrayal of Joan of Arc by her own side (and equally of the very French Mary Queen of Scots), to the British invention of the guillotine, of proper Champagne (and speaking of that, the move by the French in the Treaty of Versailles to prevent anyone else using the word on their bottles), how big Napoleon's privates weren't and what they sold for, and much else besides. It would be terrific if the French were to reply with an equally magnificent book aimed at us. They won't. France is, of course, at the centre of the world, and its inhabitants too turned in on themselves to bother a riposte. And yet, in truth, their humour really isn't bad at all, they are quite capable of coming out with highly pertinent jabs at us, if not the odd Exocet, and of course they have to put up with a huge amount of Anglo-Saxon jealousy about their vastly superior environment and quality of life, culture, architecture, trains, motorways, language, education, healthcare, tax levels, unions, and all the rest, not to mention our unjustifiable unwillingness to become a true friend and no longer such a competitor. Why does this book make its mark so well? Maybe it's because of the French innate propensity for a tad of arrogance that constantly descends them into infighting, thereby holding them back from becoming the true super race they really are and making our mutual history even more of a roller-coaster of a story than it has been.

As a bit of a history fan (and being quite old) I already know the more ubiquitous stuff but, even so, there were lots of snippets in this book that I hadn't heard of before and I found it fascinating. Even stuff that I already knew was often presented in a new light. The style is fluid and the short sections make for easy digestion and the thread of humour running throughout is at just the right level to raise the occasional wry smile. The Kindle layout doesn't suit this book as there are lots of author's notes which would be at the bottom of a paper page or at the end of a chapter but, in Kindle, by the time that you get to them, their point is lost. If there is one complaint about this book it's that even I, as no fan of all things French (I guess you wouldn't buy this book otherwise!) was a little uncomfortable with the extreme and unrelenting level of the Francophobia; in some cases, the author seems to have to wriggle to extreme lengths to 'prove' the French version wrong. So much so that, in the end, I found myself cheering for the French as the underdog, defending themselves against the nasty author; not, I guess, Mr Clarke's intention. This isn't a novel and, unlike novels, I will go back and dip into this book from time to time, even if just to bore my friends with trivia! There are lots of quotations and some are so good that I've saved them for further use! All in all, this is a good read and well worth the money.

I enjoyed this book. It is well written and perfect for my 15 minute read at bedtime. It introduced me to a lot of interesting French history, especially with regard to their settlements in North America which emphasised the difference between our maritime nation and the French continental one.

Ze French, our natural enemy on the battlefield for hundreds of years, they then become an ally and still manage to have a go and complain about us. Filled with a lot of facts that I didn't really know about - although a lot of the De Gaulle stuff I did and it turns out, he was not a very likeable man of whom even a number of his own countrymen think the same. From William the Conqueror right up to almost the modern day, history appears to be littered with things that the French blame us for when they actually had themselves to blame or, there's been a twisting of the truth. I like France for a lot of things - Johnny Hallyday, Charles Trenet, the Little Sparrow, they've made some fabulous films over the years, tasty food, beautiful countryside and some tasty alcohol - I'm more of a beer person but they're better than us at making wine by a long shot. I lived in Cherbourg for a short time late 80s too and loved it and they do have a cracking national anthem. Also, they've always been hospitable too when I've socialised with them except maybe in Marseille so I can't berate them for much. I take exception more to their politics and the massive tonne of French fries that they seemingly carry about their shoulders should anyone even suggest that another country has it better than they do - be more like the Germans, the Italians or the Spanish or dare I say it, like us - after all, there's a big proportion of les Anglais that probably originate from France anyway.............

This book about the history of relations between Britain and France is really, really amusing. The author has that wry British humor that sneaks up on you. I'm guessing this book will be more amusing to Brit and American readers than to French readers. However, this is not just a humor book. I learned a lot, and had an amusing time learning. The book covers everything from William the Conqueror to the Channel Tunnel, and lots in between. I particularly enjoyed the parts about Napoleon, Mary Queen of Scots, "French" food, the French Revolution, champagne, the less than stellar way many French people conducted themselves during WWII, and the part about Charles De Gaulle. I do realize that this is one author's take on history, and other historians, particularly French historians might have different opinions. I will definitely read more books by this excellent author. I have downloaded samples of his fiction and non-fiction books. Highly recommend this book.

This was my first Stephen Clarke's book and it is absolute fun. He writes with a nice and elegant style, never being rude but also striking some well-deserved blows to France, the French and their intolerable self-rightousness. I live in Italy, close to the French border, so I found this book refreshing - and ultimately true! It is a nice review of a thousand years of history, re-setting a lot of things straight and quietly demolishing everything that constitutes that annoying French myth that has been mostly invented by the French themselves. I read it and then bought another copy as a gift to a friend. If you think that all things French are nice, from champagne to croissants, or if they taught you in school that France won WWII (or any other War before that), buy this one and have a laugh. Sadly this one has not been translated in Italian, so I cannot use it for a bunch of nice gifts for next Xmas, since not all my friends can read a book in English, and that is a shame: everybody should read this one!

I read a chapter every now and again Really interesting, the section on Charles de Gaulle is so informative

Excellent book full of fun facts and extremely funny

Book in great shape for a second hand book.