La Belle France
La Belle France, by Alistair Horne
As preparation for our trip to France, I decided to read a general history of the country. One that covered the whole sweep of French history, from the pre-Roman days to the present. I was surprised to find that such books are few and far between. There are plenty that cover particular periods, like the revolution or the occupation, and there are even quite a number that focus on particular regions, like Paris or Provence. But large scale, sweeping historical overviews? Almost non-existent.
The only one I was able to get ahold of was La Belle France, by a British writer named Alistair Horne. I started it a few weeks before my trip.
I found it so unpleasant that I put it down, after the first few chapters. It was only when I was actually flying over the Atlantic that I was able to make myself continue.
The book was vague and off-putting. Particularly in the early chapters, on the ancient history of Gaul, it was very uninformative. It improves as it moves forward in time, but never enough to justify the effort of reading it.
Horne writes in a vaguely poetic style that can be soothing and melodic, but does not do a good job conveying basic information. While reading, I was continually surprised by how little I understood of the material just covered. He assumes the reader knows more than even the well-read can be expected to, and so refers to incidents and individuals of major significance, without explanation. He assumes the reader has an extraordinary memory, and so refers to minor figures and events from many chapters back without any reminder who or what he's talking about. Worst of all, he assumes the reader speaks French and so repeatedly leaves crucial quotations untranslated!
He also comes off as a cranky old-fogey, filling the last chapters with snide asides about modern architecture and the self-evident banality of television.
French history is inherently fascinating, with its constant warfare, disasters and revolutions. In a strange way, it's an achievement to make it boring.
If that's true, than Alistair Horne should be proud.
