French Literature

This book is the first to offer a cultural history of Frenchliterature from its very beginnings, analysing the relationshipbetween French literature and France's evolving powerstructures from the Middle Ages through to the present day. Itshows the political connections between the elite literature ofFrance and other aspects of its culture, from racism, misogyny,tolerance and liberal reform to song, street performance,advertising and cinema. The nation's literature contributedto these and was shaped by them.
The book highlights the continuities and the unique fault-lines inthe society that, over a millennium, has produced 'Frenchculture'. It looks at France's early and continuingstruggle for a national identity through both its language and itsliterature, and it shows that this struggle co-exists with opennessto other cultures and a bawdy or subtle rebelliousness against theChurch and other forms of authority. En route it takes in cuisine,gardens and the French tradition in mathematics. The surveyprovides an accessible approach to key issues in the history ofFrench culture as well as a wide context for specialists.