The Discovery of France (Picador Classic, 41) - Tapa blanda

Illuminating, engrossing and full of surprises, The Discovery of France is a literary exploration of a country few will recognize; from maps and migration to magic, language and landscape, it's a book that reveals the `real' past of France to tell the whole story - and history - of this remarkable nation. `With gloriously apposite facts and an abundance of quirky anecdotes and thumbnail sketches of people, places and customs, Robb, on brilliant form, takes us on a stunning journey through the historical landscape of France' Independent `Certain books strain the patience of those close to you. How many times can you demand: "Look at this! Can you imagine? Did you know that?" without actually handing over the volume? This is such a book' Mail on Sunday `An extraordinary journey of discovery that will delight even the most indolent armchair traveller' Daily Telegraph

Graham Robb was born in Manchester in 1958 and is a former fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. He has published widely on French literature and history. His 2007 book The Discovery of France won both the Duff Cooper and Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prizes. For Parisians (2010) the City of Paris awarded him the Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris. He lives on the English-Scottish border.