France Memoir

What was it like to be a citizen fighting the Nazis? Lucie Aubrac, of Catholic and peasant background, was teaching history in a Lyon school and had just married Raymond, a Jewish engineer, when World War II erupted and divided France. This is Lucie's harrowing account of her participation in the Resistance, when, though pregnant, she planned and took part in raids to free comrades - including her husband, under Nazi death sentence - from the prisons of the infamous "Butcher of Lyon," Klaus Barbie.

When Daniel Guiet was a child and his family moved country, as they frequently did, his father had one possession, a tin bread box, that always made the trip. Daniel was admonished never to touch the box, but one day he couldn't resist. What he found astonished him: a .45 automatic and five full clips; three slim knives; a length of wire with a wooden handle at each end; thin pieces of paper with random numbers on them; several passports with his father's photograph, each bearing a different name.

Les Presses Universitaires de France et Frémeaux & Associés proposent cette biographie d'Aliénor d'Aquitaine, analysée et expliquée par Martin Aurell, professeur d'histoire du Moyen-Age à l'Université de Poitiers, Directeur du Centre d'Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale et directeur de la revue Cahiers de civilisation médiévale. Martin Aurell dresse le portrait d'une femme exceptionnelle aux multiples facettes.

Dans ce livre unique, qui propose des réflexions personnelles, spirituelles et historiques – dont certaines n'ont jamais été partagées auparavant –, Sa Sainteté le dalaï-lama raconte l'histoire de sa lutte contre la Chine pour sauver le Tibet et son peuple pendant plus de soixante-quinze ans. Le dalaï-lama a dû lutter contre la République populaire de Chine toute sa vie.

In many ways it is fitting that Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) is one of the best known figures of the French Revolution. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. Few were as vocal in their support of Enlightenment ideals as Robespierre. But the Reign of Terror became the most memorable aspect of the Revolution, and Robespierre's position made him the Reign of Terror's instrumental figure.

History celebrates George Washington as the leader of the American Revolution and the father of his country. But what has gone previously unexamined is Washington's life as a 22-year-old lieutenant colonel who led 400 American militiamen against a bigger, more experienced French army and paid a high price. Not only did Washington lose over a third of his men but the Battle of Great Meadows was also the spark that ignited the French and Indian War.

The most celebrated general in history, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) has for centuries attracted eminent male writers. Since Thomas Carlyle first christened him “our last Great Man”, regiments of biographers have marched across the same territory, weighing campaigns and conflicts, military tactics and power politics. With Napoleon, Ruth Scurr, one of our most eloquent and original historians, emphatically rejects the shibboleth of the “Great Man” theory of history, instead following the dramatic trajectory of Napoleon’s life through gardens, parks, and forests.

From the author of 'Barry Braithwaite's Last Life', 'Upcote and Smythe', 'Caveman' and more, a hilarious blow-by-blow account of the life of an expatriate Englishman. Ernest Postlethwaite was a man embarking on a new life. No longer for him the routine and drudgery of the commuter. The first part of Ernest Postlethwaite's groundbreaking journal charters the course of a man on a mission to achieve cultural and linguistic integration in a small village in southern Spain. This unadulterated manuscript will bring tears to the eyes of the most hard-hearted among us, as we follow his footsteps ...

THREE MEN IN SPAIN is an omnibus edition of: THREE MEN IN A VAN by Jeremy Hastings ONE MAN IN A VAN by Geoff Corless IT’S NOT ABOUT THE VAN by Harry Storrar Please see individual book descriptions and reviews for more information.

ESCAPE TO EXTREMADURA is the candid, entertaining account of a middle-aged Lancastrian’s move to a small town in one of the least populated areas of Spain. After fate brings Brian and Mónica together in a café in Clitheroe, love blossoms and they begin to make plans for the future. His hasty retirement from a long career at a Lancaster furniture company precedes their flight to Llerena, Mónica’s home town, where her pious mother and unruly father await them expectantly. Don Andrés, the ailing patriarch of their ever-expanding family, welcomes the Englishman with open arms, while ...

THE GUEST’s visit to the author’s Spanish home was meant to be a carefree fortnight of work and leisure, but it didn’t turn out that way. Mike Rippon’s account of John Smith’s eventful stay is both humorous and harrowing, as his guest’s behaviour becomes increasingly odd. Undisputedly an expert golfer, John’s veiled tales of his life as a secret serviceman begin to strike a less than harmonic chord and Mike is soon counting down the days until his departure. John, however, is in no hurry to leave, and despite enlisting the help of his friends, Mike’s undoubted patience and ...

THE OPPORTUNIST – AN ENTERPRISING LIFE IN SPAIN is Craig K. Kirkland’s account of his inventive and ignoble efforts to make his fortune. After a rather unscrupulous apprenticeship in the north midlands he is forced to flee abroad to further his ambitions and in this amusing chronicle he recounts his unethical exploits with brazen honesty. Mr Kirkland’s eye-opening tale of ingenuity and avarice, though not for the overly righteous, makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking read. This book is not intended as an instruction manual and the publisher does not condone the author’s ...

When Mr Alec Quigley, superannuated insurance clerk, leaves the Bedfordshire bungalow of his indomitable niece Angela and makes his way to the Spanish village that he once read about in a history book, things are unlikely to go smoothly. A man with many foibles, not least his tendency to fantasise, his guardian Angela wants him home before he can get into any of the frequent scrapes that have dogged his – and, of late, her – existence. He is, however, intent on carving out a new life for himself in the Spanish interior and soon enlists the help of Fernando the fireman, Jorge the ...

SPIKE IN SPAIN is the light-hearted story of a peculiar Lancastrian’s relocation to a small town at the foot of the Alicante mountains. An obsessive cyclist and the bane of his long-suffering wife’s life, Spike finds himself booted out of the family home and consigned to a grotty terraced house in Colne. Believing, incorrectly, that an old clubmate has invited him to stay at his Spanish retreat, a spell of lateral thinking by the cycling club president, Pete, leads to Spike’s flight to his old pal Mike’s house instead. As the charitable Mike has already rescued three donkeys and a ...

AN INNOCENT IN SPAIN is the light-hearted account of an unlikely expat’s first months in his new country. Ian Smith might not be the first tubby, middle-aged Englishman to arrive in a small Spanish town, but he’s certainly one of the poorest and most naive. Luckily for him, long-time resident Graham Baker is on hand to help him settle in and somehow survive on his meagre savings. After an initial, potentially calamitous blunder Ian appears to rally, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself in dire straits once again. Will he have to return to Lancashire, more penniless ...

CLIVE AND KEN, REMOVAL MEN is a humorous and touching tale about two friends who are reunited in Spain after over thirty years apart. Ken Bradshaw and Clive Ogden, alias Oglethorpe, were two teenagers in Ramsbottom when Clive was whisked off to prison, wrongly accused of pinching old Mrs Sutcliffe’s jewellery. Thirty-odd years later, Clive, now an art and antiques dealer, feels a burning desire to give his old mate a call, not least because he believes Ken to be the owner of a flourishing van rental business. Clive invites his long-lost pal to fly over to visit him in Spain, a meeting ...

STEADY ON, GEORGE! is the stirring and humorous account of the adventures of two mature men in Spain. Five months after his friend George becomes a widower, 76-year-old Mel Taylor finally gets his new knee into gear and flies out to visit him in Denia. Intending to stay for a couple of weeks, George soon whisks him off on a trip whose consequences threaten to turn his quiet life by the English seaside upside down. Despite the misgivings of his protective daughter Beth, Mel soon finds George’s desire for change and renewal so contagious that previously unthinkable ideas begin to seem quite...

Zinédine Zidane est le Français le plus célèbre au monde, mais qui est-il vraiment ? Un être secret qui cultive la discrétion, un homme adulé qui se préserve et protège les siens, une star au destin exceptionnel qui reste un type normal. A travers dix-huit années d'échanges et de confessions exclusives avec le joueur devenu entraîneur.

Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars is about the life, death, and legacy of Louis XVI's tragic queen, based upon the author's 30 years of research. Whenever possible, the historical persons speak for themselves out of memoirs and letters.

De toute la monarchie, il reste dans la bouche du peuple un nom - Henri IV - et deux chansons - "Charmante Gabrielle" et "Malbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre". Ah ! il est resté un mot aussi : la poule au pot.