History of France

by Charlotte Mary Yonge

HardPress Classic Books Series

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Classics

61 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Charlotte Mary Yonge was an English novelist, known for her huge output, now mostly out of print.

She began writing in 1848, and published during her long life about 160 works, chiefly novels. Her first commercial success, The Heir of Redclyffe (1853), provided the funding to enable the schooner Southern Cross to be put into service on behalf of George Selwyn. Similar charitable works were done with the profits from later novels. Yonge was also a founder and editor for forty years of The Monthly Packet, a magazine (founded in 1851) with a varied readership, but targeted at British Anglican girls (in later years it was addressed to a somewhat wider readership).

Among the best known of her works are The Heir of Redclyffe, Heartsease, and The Daisy Chain. A Book of Golden Deeds is a collection of true stories of courage and self-sacrifice. She also wrote Cameos from English History, Life of John Coleridge Patteson: Missionary Bishop of the Melanesian Islands and Hannah More. Her History of Christian Names was described as "the first serious attempt at tackling the subject" and as the standard work on names in the preface to the first edition of Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 1944.

Her personal example and influence on her god-daughter, Alice Mary Coleridge, played a formative role in Coleridge's zeal for women's education and thus, indirectly, led to the foundation of Abbots Bromley School for Girls.

After her death, her friend, assistant and collaborator, Christabel Coleridge, published the biographical Charlotte Mary Yonge: her Life and Letters (1903).

-Wikipedia

The Charlotte Mary Yonge Fellowship, a website with lots of information.

See Charlotte's character page for books about her.

Reviews

[Jerome · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid history of France, and Yonge does well in displaying the positive qualities of France. The only downside, as I soon realized halfway through, was that my edition was quite old. Here I am reading along, and I realize I'm nearly finished with the book, with still a lot of history to go. Turns out the edition I had was from 1882, and in fact, the last event discussed is the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. A lot has happened with France since that time, and I daresay, if anything, the impression of France in history has lessened from it being a dominant world power to a European nation that has barely won any major battles and had its last big victory with the First Crusade in 1095! Still, it is fascinating to look at France through the lens of the late 19th century, you see that the view in that time was of France being much more powerful than the current day. A most interesting look into historical context and understanding.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly a brief overview, but is a helpful perspective to use along with other texts.

[Eliza Fitzgerald]

So I picked this book on librivox as something that I could listen to on an overnight flight to help me sleep. But it was actually a good listen and went perfectly with reading Joan of Arc

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very brief canter through French history from the Roman period to the Franco-Prussian war, which due to its brevity is quite difficult to follow and serves to demonstrate that French history is very complex indeed, deserving of a much more detailed treatment. Written by a prolific and prominent Victorian novelist (published in the UK in 1882, although this ebook is digitised from an American edition) and leading church figure, it’s almost comically sneery towards all those dissolute Catholic monarchs (on top of their sin of being *French*, by George!), but it is also quite modern in concentrating on the personal and deeply felt rivalries between historical figures, rather than just enumerating battles. It is also modern in demonstrating the central role played by women in ruling countries and conducting diplomacy in their own right as well as merely providing lines of inheritance for the men. You can definitely see the novelist there finding stories to tell as well as events to relate. A good, if dated, introduction to the topic.

[Jefferson Fortner · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was twelve, I came across a reprint of The Little Duke: Richard the Fearless (1854) by Charlotte Mary Yonge, and I loved the story. The title is misleading, as Richard was actually the last Count of Normandy, and his son was the first ruler acknowledged as Duke of Normandy. Richard was the grandson of Rollo, the Norse invader and settler of Normandy. He was also the great-grandfather of William the Conqueror. Richard the Fearless was only ten years old when his father was killed, and it was his noted bravery at different times when his young life was in danger that earned him his nickname. The story of a ten-year-old who was suddenly the ruler of his territory but who had to escape dangers to his life was custom made for twelve-year-old me.

I have not really seen another work by Yonge since then, even though she was quite prolific. She predominantly wrote for young readers, and I am a bit aged-out of that target audience, but when I had a chance to read this History of France, I grabbed it. Necessarily, this book was not sufficiently complex to challenge me at this point of my life. It was interesting, but it told me nothing that I didn’t already know. So, mark this one up to a victory for nostalgia.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just fascinating , a twisted old oak of history.

[Gina Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative

An ideal read for people new to studying French history. It's straight to the point and does not trail off as some tend to do.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although somewhat too brief, the book has some coverage on customs and arts, in addition to the main and typical chronicle of political and military events.

[Wilson Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is old as dirt, but it is a classic which isn't in print anymore and it may well be never put back in print. I thought this would be the best way to get a short introduction with a broad scope. It was just that, a fantastic and to the point history of France.
She doesn't mince words and she doesn't waste too much time on any one topic. In 75 pages, she doesn't have the space to do so. The point is, you get a quick overview of the information you need!

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1882, it's a short book, easy to read, and acquainted me with a decent overview of France's history. It's not an exhaustive work, coming in around 80 pages, and the last major event in the book is the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, however the author hits on the major events and people that shaped France across the centuries. And since it was free, you really can not go wrong with it.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading as a very basic, entry level refresher/introduction to major events in French history before 1871. It was refreshing to see a history not clouded by contemporary politics.

Also, it's free on kindle and only 76 pages.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked reading about my relatives

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst.