The History of Modern France by Jonathan Fenby, book review: Why the French rebel

As the title suggests, this is a book with the ambition to be not just another history of modern France, but the history. In many respects, it succeeds. Jonathan Fenby positively gallops through a comprehensive account of France from 1789 until now. He has not selected only the juicy bits – the Revolution, Napoleon, the First World War, De Gaulle, 1968. He fills in what happens in between so that events are joined up and the narrative complete.