de Gaulle

My host’s reciprocity was almost embarrassingly generous

15 September 2018 9:00 am

Peace came dropping slow. I have never regarded west Flanders as part of la France profonde, but here we were,…

France’s favourite bedtime story: a sanitised version of the French Revolution

18 July 2015 9:00 am

The great conundrum of French history is the French Revolution, or rather, the sequence of revolutions, coups and insurrections during…

James Gillray’s ‘Maniac Ravings or Little Boney in a Strong Fit’ (published 24 May 1803). From Bonaparte and the British: Prints and Propaganda in the Age of Napoleon by Tim Clayton and Sheila O’Connell (The British Museum, £25, pp. 246, ISBN 9780714126937). The book accompanies an exhibition at the British Museum until 16 August

Man of destiny: Napoleon was always convinced he was the chosen one

16 May 2015 9:00 am

It is almost inconceivable that there could be a more densely detailed book about Napoleon than this — 800 crowded…

What took Francis Mitterrand to the top?

14 December 2013 9:00 am

Of a dashing political rival, François Mitterrand once remarked: He was more intelligent than I was, he thought faster than…