1000 Years of Annoying the French

This turned out far better than I expected from the (admittedly amusing) title. Indeed, this not being my period, I could only really find two errors (when talking about Mary, Queen of Scots' imprisonment at Tutbury in Staffordshire, Clarke refers to "nearby" Buxton when it's anything but; and he gets the origin of the Sudeten Germans wrong - but then again, so does nearly everyone else) and one glossing over (his account of the 1956 Suez crisis seems a bit sketchy over the American and Russian reactions, and just saying that he was concentrating on the Anglo-French story is no excuse because Clarke went off-piste for essential background earlier).

But these are minor quibbles; after all, no-one's going to use this as their primary show more source for serious historical research. Are they?

Nearly 700 pages slipped past very easily. It read like a cross between 'Game of Thrones' and 'Horrible Histories'. Ruth Murray's cover art is a delight. show less

This is a very long book, nearly 700 pages, as might be expected from a book that covers a millenium's worth of Anglo-French relations in great detail. The author is British but has lived on both sides of the channel, and he lobs potshots in each direction. I learned a surprising number of things, such as:

1. Many things traditionally thought of as French, such as the guillotine, champagne and William of Normandy, were not French.
2. During World War II, the British hated their French allies almost as much as they hated their Soviet allies.
3. Voltaire was an enthusiastic Anglophile.

The chapters come with delightful sub-headings, such as "In India and Tahiti: France Gets Lost In Paradise: A selection of historical Frenchmen lose India, show more fail to notice Australia and give sexually transmitted diseases to Pacific islanders" and "How Britain Killed Off the Last French Royals: And the Victorians said, 'It was an accident, honest.' Three times."

If you're willing to wade through so many pages, this is a delightful read. I really enjoyed it. show less

When I started reading this I wasn't sure I could handle that many years, and pages, of history written with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I was wrong. Turns out it was the porridge that Goldilocks ate for telling this very long and very acrimonious relationship story.

From my travels around France and from having lived in Paris for 9 years, I've always been interested in the British vs. French rivalry, but I could never bring myself to read about it because everything seemed so boring. Until now! Even at nearly 700 pages I found this book fascinating and funny, and a great way to learn about this aspect of European history. Life's too short to read stuff you don't enjoy, so if you want a fun way to learn about the history between France and England (and impress all your friends at the next pub quiz), I highly recommend this book!

This book is a hoot. OK, so according to other reviewers, there are historical inaccuracies (my knowledge however is not as comprehensive) so to me it reads quite well.

This 'new, revised, updated and expanded edition' will need another serious revision, update and expansion now the Brexit furore has hit the history books and will certainly give even more annoyance to the French (and Germans)

Whilst reading (in batches - far too much to do all at once) the 'I didn't know THAT' syndrome crept up quite often. Many a good snippet to throw into the conversation amongst Francophones who generally speaking really are as arrogant as the French themselves.

This millennial look at the history of Britain and France is told with wry, sometimes childishly irritating, and rarely laugh-inducing humour. It’s pretty comprehensive, coming in at just under 650 pages, and it’s not all as good as the rest of it.

Beginning with William the Conqueror (not French) and ending with Nicolas Sarkozy (French), Clarke covers a fair bit of ground including food, battles, trade, battles, Canada, battles, wine, battles, Voltaire, battles, the French Revolution and battles. Oh, and there are about seven chapters dedicated to Napoleon.

You learn a lot about the impact of France on the world. In many cases, as the book has a clear anti-French bias (albeit tongue-in-cheek apparently) Clarke takes pains to point show more out where our common understanding of the influence of France on history is misplaced.

Although history is the opinion of whoever decides to interpret certain selected facts a certain way, it’s helpful to know that there are alternative ways to interpret facts so that the French don’t get the glory for many things they think they’re responsible for. As a Brit, that’s very satisfying.

Despite it being a whimsical ride for the most part, it did drag from time to time, and I was glad to get it over with. There are far too many dad jokes in here for me. He’s a writer, not a comedian.

I can see this being something of a good read on holiday or on the plane. Something to pick up and put down. It’s interesting enough. But Clarke is no Bryson, and I couldn’t help but wish our USAnian friend could have advised him. show less

Someone wrote in his review that you don't need to be English or hate the French to enjoy this book, and he was certainly right. I enjoyed it, being Dutch, as I can always laugh with the rivalry between the French and the Brits. It is also a great history lesson which starts with a - quite necessary - explanation of what exactly happened in 1066. I had completely forgotten, as it is not my national history. Apologies. From that point on is shows histories about Canada and the to-be-USA, champagne, many a French-Anglo war, the French Revolution, Napoleon, and at last the Eurostar train between England and France. I think I learned quite a lot during this read, I found it interesting as well, as the writing style is mocking both the show more French as the Brits. show less