20th Century History

A compelling novel about the requirement to be perfect, without losing sight of yourself - by the greatest feminist of the twentieth-century, Simone de Beauvoir. Laurence is a woman who...

The House of Chanel is synonymous with not one, but two, iconic designers. First there was Gabrielle, and then there was Karl. Chanel is a house known for its signatures...

For some historians and biographers, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94) was a great revolutionary martyr who succeeded in leading the French Republic to safety in the face of overwhelming military odds. For...

Winner of the Leo Gershoy Prize from the American Historical Association, 1998, for the best book in Early Modern European History. Timothy Tackett's Becoming a Revolutionary revisits one of the...

In 1947, when Christian Dior's model spun her wasp-waisted skirt and tipped a hat over one eye, the iconic designer became an instant celebrity. His groundbreaking "new look" was quintessentially...

Since 1995 there has been a widespread return of commitment to French cinema taking it to a level unmatched since the heady days following 1968. But this new wave of...

It is often taken for granted that French cinema is intimately connected to the nation's sense of identity and self-confidence. But what do we really know about that relationship? What...

Following nearly two years of planning and exacting preparation, Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of the Nazi-dominated European continent, was mounted in the early hours of 6th June, 1944. It...

This is the story of Dunkirk and of the men who planned it (insofar as it was planned) and of the men who carried it out, and of their ships....

It's Girl Interrupted meets Miranda July-with a touch of Joan Didion-in this captivating collection of original essays revolving around a young American girl's coming of age in Paris. As an...

The fateful days and weeks surrounding 6 June 1944 have been extensively documented in histories of the Second World War, but less attention has been paid to the tremendous impact...

A grand tale of bravery during the Dieppe raid of 1942, grippingly told by the bestselling author of Bomber Boys On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla...

A murderer targets British historians of the First World War in this 1970s classic Paul Mitchell spends his days researching the carnage of the First World War in the silence...

The 2024 Elizabeth Longford prizewinning biography of the founder of Impressionism Based on thousands of never-before translated letters and unpublished sources, Jackie Wullschl ger's enthralling biography is the first account...

Set in 1940s Paris, this bittersweet, international bestseller is the perfect novel for fans of A Man Called Ove , My Name is Lucy Barton and The Guest Cat A...

THE RIVIERA SET is the story of the group of people who lived, partied, bed-hopped and politicked at the Chateau de l'Horizon near Cannes, over the course of forty years...

Profiles extraordinary Australian women who travelled to France at different times through history and who formulated their impressions-in fiction, diaries, letters, autobiographies-between 1880 and 1945.The book explores how the women...

Established in 1898 in the heart of Paris on the Place Vendome, the Hotel Ritz instantly became an icon of the city frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American...

With the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the next two centuries for France would be tumultuous. Bestselling historian and political commentator Jonathan Fenby...

This richly illustrated volume explores the pictorial world of the man whose formal innovations, commitment to realism and exploration of both the light and dark sides of contemporary society foreshadowed...

Ninette Dreyfus was a cosseted scion of one of France's most prominent Jewish families - a cousin to Albert Einstein and family friend to Colette. But when the Second World...

A major new political history of the French Revolution In 1786, France's ancien regime was functioning as usual. Its alliance with the victorious American colonies had restored its diplomatic prestige,...

An insightful new biography of the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair, focused on the man himself and based on newly accessible documents "An admirable introduction not only to its...

An authoritative and original history of the Maginot Line that reshapes our understanding of interwar France and the events of 1940 The Maginot Line was a marvel of 1930s engineering....

A strikingly new account of the impact of the French Revolution in Paris, across the French countryside, and around the globe The French Revolution has fascinated, perplexed, and inspired for...

An intimate new portrait of one of history's most controversial figures: heroic revolutionary or the first terrorist? For some historians and biographers, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94) was a great revolutionary martyr...

Winner of the Society for Military History's Distinguished Book Award "Deeply researched and forcefully written . . . deftly explains the confused politics and diplomacy that bedeviled the war against...

An insightful new biography of the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair, focused on the man himself and based on newly accessible documents On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus's...

Cambrai Campaign 1917 is an account of the British Expeditionary Force s battles in November and December of 1917. It starts with the plan to carry out a tank raid...

A strikingly new account of the impact of the French Revolution in Paris, across the French countryside, and around the globe The French Revolution has fascinated, perplexed, and inspired for...

The definitive oral history of the most infamous and bloody conflict of the Great War 1916. The Somme. With over a million casualties, it was the most brutal battle of...

London and Paris are the titles of Tiddy Rowan's unique city guides focusing on modern and contemporary art - a genuine gap in the art and travel market. Never before...

Andre Marfaing (1925-87) was a French non-figurative painter and printmaker associated with abstract art and informalism. This catalogue raisonne of is a complete repertory of his painted work, from his...

The first publication to bring together three major twentieth- century photographers - Wolfgang Suschitzky, Dorothy Bohm and Neil Libbert - presenting their artistic responses to three great world cities across...

Charles Williams' major biography of Philippe Petain (1856-1951) tells of a peasant who became a Marshal of France and the Head of the Vichy State. A slow climb up the...

Fighting to reclaim the French crown for the Bourbons, the duchesse de Berry faces betrayal at the hands of one of her closest advisors in this dramatic history of power...

Set amongst the rolling vineyards and gentle courtyards of a small seaside village in Catalonia, Patrick O'Brian's second novel is a poignant story of tumultuous love, complex faith and one...

Sometimes making history means breaking some rules... Don't miss the powerful new historical fiction novel Inspired by the incredible true story of Althea Gibson, the first Black athlete to win...

A spy is dead. A legend is born. This is how it all began. The explosive prequel to Casino Royale, from bestselling author Anthony Horowitz. The story begins in Moscow...

Late on the afternoon of Sunday, August 20 1911, three men strolled through the Louvre. Disguising themselves as museum staff they hid until nightfall. Sixteen hours later the most famous...

At the age of 17, Shusha Guppy left Iran and her family to study at the Sorbonne in Paris. Diving into the unknown - a world of unimagined freedoms and...

A masterful tale of murder and intrigue in a small French town, from the celebrated author of the Maigret series Nobody mentioned the victims, or the terror that had gripped...

One of the great contemporary historians of France on one of the most controversial periods of twentieth-century French history Few images more shocked the French population during the Occupation than...

A new collection of Albert Camus' most brilliant speeches and lectures 'Truth is mysterious, fleeting, always to be won. Freedom is dangerous, as hard to live as it is exalting'...

A new translation of this classic text The Ancien Regime and the Revolution is a comparison of revolutionary France and the despotic rule it toppled. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) is...

'Masterly ... awesome reading ... an outstanding biography' Max Hastings, Sunday Times In six weeks in 1940, France was over-run by German troops and surrendered. One junior French general, refusing...

A sumptuous historical novel, set against the backdrop of World War I, from 'an enormous talent' (Zadie Smith) 'A sublime reading experience- delicate, restrained, surpassingly intelligent, uncommonly poised and truly...

From the bestselling author comes a transporting new novel about the secret lives of a film crew in Brighton, 1968 A producer. A novelist. An actress. It is summer in...