Best Selling Books by Graham Robb

Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on early 20th-century culture. This new work by the biographer of Balzac and Victor Hugo now brings the "haunting and haunted poet" ("New York Times Book Review") vividly to life. of illustrations.

The New York Times bestseller: the secrets of the City of Light, revealed in the lives of the great, the near-great, and the forgotten—by the author of the acclaimed The Discovery of France. This is the Paris you never knew. From the Revolution to the present, Graham Robb has distilled a series of astonishing true narratives, all stranger than fiction, of the lives of the great, the near-great, and the forgotten. A young artillery lieutenant, strolling through the Palais-Royal, observes disapprovingly the courtesans plying their trade. A particular woman catches his eye; nature takes its course. Later that night Napoleon Bonaparte writes a meticulous account of his first sexual encounter. A well-dressed woman, fleeing the Louvre, takes a wrong turn and loses her way in the nameless streets of the Left Bank. For want of a map—there were no reliable ones at the time—Marie-Antoinette will go to the guillotine. Baudelaire, the photographer Marville, Baron Haussmann, the real-life Mimi of La Boheme, Proust, Adolf Hitler touring the occupied capital in the company of his generals, Charles de Gaulle (who is suspected of having faked an assassination attempt in Notre Dame)—these and many more are Robb’s cast of characters, and the settings range from the quarries and catacombs beneath the streets to the grand monuments to the appalling suburbs ringing the city today. The result is a resonant, intimate history with the power of a great novel.

A portrait of the self-destructive French novelist follows Balzac''s early literary disappointments, impractical money-making schemes, love affairs, correspondences, and achievements.

A wholly original history of France, filled with a lifetime’s knowledge and passion—by the author of the New York Times bestseller Parisians. Beginning with the Roman army’s first recorded encounter with the Gauls and ending in the era of Emmanuel Macron, France takes readers on an endlessly entertaining journey through French history. Frequently hilarious, always surprising, Graham Robb’s France combines the stylistic versatility of a novelist with the deep understanding of a scholar. Robb’s own adventures and discoveries while living, working, and traveling in France connect this tour through space and time with on-the-ground experience. There are scenes of wars and revolutions from the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris. Robb conveys with wit and precision what it felt like to look over the shoulder of a young Louis XIV as he planned the vast garden of Versailles, and the dangerous thrill of having a ringside seat at the French revolution. Some of the protagonists may be familiar, but appear here in a very different light—Caesar, Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon Bonaparte, General Charles de Gaulle. This extraordinary narrative is the fruit of decades of research and thirty thousand miles on a self-propelled, two-wheeled time machine (a bicycle). Even seasoned Francophiles will wonder if they really know that terra incognita on the edge of Europe that is currently referred to as “France.”

A narrative of exploration, this historical geography explains how the modern nation of France came to be and how poorly understood that nation still is today. Above all, it shows how much of France--past and present--remains to be discovered. Illustrated.

Critical biography previously unavailable documents, correspondence and journals including an encrypted private, journel to expose Hugo''s private life politics and his poetry.

A fresh examination of this forbidden history shows the profound effects of gay culture on modern life. Robb, brilliant biographer of Balzac, Hugo, and Rimbaud, examines how homosexuals were treated by society and finds a tale of surprising tolerance.

"Intriguing and stimulating." —Jane Smiley, Harper''s In this real-life historical treasure hunt, bestselling author Graham Robb—"one of the more unusual and appealing historians currently striding the planet (New York Times)"—reveals the mapping of ancient Gaul as a reflection of the heavens, demonstrates the lasting influence of Druid science and recharts the exploration of the world and the spread of Christianity. This "fascinating" (Los Angeles Times) history offers nothing less than an entirely new understanding of the birth of modern Europe.

"[An] entertaining work of geographical sleuthing.…Surprises abound." —The New Yorker An oft-overlooked region lies at the heart of British national history: the Debatable Land. The oldest detectable territorial division in Great Britain, the Debatable Land once served as a buffer between England and Scotland. It was once the bloodiest region in the country, fought over by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James V. After most of its population was slaughtered or deported, it became the last part of Great Britain to be brought under the control of the state. Today, its boundaries have vanished from the map and are matters of myth and generational memories. In The Debatable Land, historian Graham Robb recovers the history of this ancient borderland in an exquisite tale that spans Roman, Medieval, and present-day Britain. Rich in detail and epic in scope, The Debatable Land provides a crucial, missing piece in the puzzle of British history.

When Graham Robb made plans to cycle the legendary Via Heraklea, he had no idea that the line he plotted - stretching from the south-western tip of the Iberian Peninsula, across the Pyrenees and towards the Alps - would change the way he saw a civilisation. It was an ancient path that took him deep into the world of the Celts: their gods, their art, and, most of all, their sophisticated knowledge of science. Gradually, a lost map revealed itself, of an empire constructed with precision and beauty across vast tracts of Europe. Oriented according to the movements of the Celtic sun god, the map had been forgotten for almost two millennia. Its implications were astonishing.

A col is the lowest point on the saddle between two mountains. Graham Robb has spent years uncovering and cataloguing the 2,002 cols and 105 passes scattered across the British Isles. Some of these obscure and magical sites are virgin cols that have never been crossed. Dozens were lost by the Ordnance Survey and are recorded only in ballads or monastic charters. The eleven cols of Hadrian''s Wall are practically unknown and have never been properly identified. These underappreciated slices of natural beauty provide a new way of looking at British history, and a challenge for cyclists and walkers.

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''A delicious and hypnotically fascinating masterpiece of squinty-eyed fanaticism'' - Stephen Bayley, Spectator Books of the Year ''No one else so relishes the odd corners of history'' - Sunday Times ''Such a warm, gentle and generous writer, with no faux scholarly tosh or solitary ecstasy riffs'' - Evening Standard The one and only guide to every col and pass in the British Isles, for cyclists, walkers and armchair travellers A col is the lowest point on the saddle between two mountains. Graham Robb has spent years uncovering and cataloguing the 2,002 cols and 105 passes scattered across the British Isles. Some of these obscure and magical sites are virgin cols that have never been crossed. Dozens were lost by the Ordnance Survey and are recorded only in ballads or monastic charters. The eleven cols of Hadrian''s Wall are practically unknown and have never been properly identified. These under-appreciated slices of natural beauty provide a new way of looking at British history, and a challenge for cyclists and walkers. A wonderful writer . . . No one else so relishes the odd corners of history - Sunday Times He is such a warm, gentle and generous writer, with no faux scholarly tosh or solitary ecstasy riffs - Evening Standard Graham Robb is an acclaimed historian and biographer, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Chevalier dans l''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has won the Whitbread Biography Prize and the Heinemann Award forVictor Hugo, as well as the Ondaatje Prize and Duff Cooper Prize for The Discovery of France. He lives on the English-Scottish border (and within a day''s ride of one hundred and seventy cols).

Discriminados, perseguidos y castigados. Su crimen: amar a una persona del mismo sexo. La historia de los homosexuales se ha ceñido durante mucho tiempo a la intolerancia y a los mitos construidos alrededor de ellos. A partir de una revisión de las obras literarias del siglo XIX, en este ensayo histórico y social se hace una recapitulación sobre las ideas y prejuicios sobre la homosexualidad, y los problemas que enfrentó no sólo en el ámbito público sino también en el privado. Numerosas teorías fundadas en los prejuicios sociales y un desconocimiento científico constituyen el discurso dominante sobre la homosexualidad. Consciente de esto, el autor emprende esta investigación con el deseo de presentar una historia social que recrea la forma de vivir la homosexualidad a lo largo del siglo XIX, especialmente en Estados Unidos y Europa. Este trabajo esboza una teoría novedosa acerca de la tolerancia hacia la homosexualidad a través de la ficción de aquellos tiempos. "Este libro se divide en tres partes. La primera describe el trato de hombres y mujeres gay por las profesiones legales y médicas y por la sociedad en general. La segunda describe sus vidas y amores: cómo se descubrieron a sí mismos e hicieron contacto con personas de ideas parecidas. Esta parte termina con el amanecer de la solidaridad homosexual y con los primeros movimientos de derechos gay. La tercera parte se dedica a ciertos aspectos capitales de la cultura gay. Una historia social que cubre un continente y medio y un siglo y medio no puede decir nada preciso acerca del posible futuro, pero puede proporcionar ciertas razones creíbles para tener un punto de vista más alegre del pasado."

"Les aventures qui figurent dans ce livre ont été écrites comme une histoire de Paris racontée par de nombreuses voix différentes. Elles débutent à l’aube de la Révolution française et s’achèvent à l’époque actuelle, s’autorisant parfois quelques incursions dans le passé médiéval et préhistorique. Par cette entreprise, je me proposais de composer une mini Comédie humaine de Paris, dans laquelle l’histoire de la ville serait éclairée par l’expérience vécue de ses habitants. Rien n’a été artificiellement ajouté et personne – mis à part le baron Haussmann, Adolf Hitler et quelques présidents de la République – ne disserte sur l’évolution du système d’égouts ou du réseau de transports." Au lecteur, amoureux de Paris ou curieux d’Histoire, de se délecter de ce merveilleux livre, pour y rencontrer une foule de personnages inconnus ou illustres : le tout jeune lieutenant Buonaparte, en goguette au Palais-Royal ; l’architecte Guillaumot, l’homme qui sauva Paris, dont aucune rue de la capitale ne porte le nom aujourd’hui ; Marie Antoinette, reine en détresse, perdue un certain jour de 1791 aux abords du palais des Tuileries ; le grand Vidocq, qui pouvait se changer à loisir en botte de foin ; mais aussi Proust, Charles de Gaulle, Juliette Gréco, et tant d’autres...

Jazz Steps is a unique methodical approach to jazz improvisation. It is an aural based method that starts with simple listening exercises and moves on towards copying and then responding to short jazz phrases. The cassette is available on catalogue no: 0571513689.

Famosa por seus intelectuais, artistas, filósofos e escritores, sua moda, sua gastronomia e seu vinho, a França exerce um fascínio duradouro no resto do mundo. Mas neste original e revelador relato de sua jornada histórico-geográfica pelo país, o inglês Graham Robb descortina uma França que ainda precisa ser descoberta, muito além da efervescência cultural de Paris e dos dias ensolarados do sul. Ao viajar 22.500 quilômetros de bicicleta pelo país que adotou como seu, à procura de traços de sua área rural, o premiado biógrafo de Victor Hugo, Balzac e Rimbaud encontrou uma civilização estrangeira completamente diferente dos clichês que conhecemos, que só desapareceu há pouco mais de um século. Seja escrevendo sobre os Cagots, descendentes dos invasores sarracenos e que foram perseguidos até o século XX, ou dos prodigiosos pastores de Landes, que podem caminhar cerca de 120 quilômetros por dia, Robb é um guia competente e envolvente, que leva o leitor a um lugar que precipitadamente pensamos conhecer. O autor explora todas as regiões do país — cheio de paisagens pitorescas e até estranhos habitantes — e primeiro nos apresenta a uma França que, de certa forma, mudou muito pouco desde a ocupação dos romanos. Até o século XIX, o país era menos uma nação do que um conjunto de tribos que habitavam um vasto território e falava um grande número de línguas. Embora isso tenha começado a mudar a partir de 1789, havia pouca uniformidade: em algumas regiões — em certos aspectos do cotidiano — as mudanças foram rápidas e definitivas; em outras, quase imperceptíveis. Enquanto Gustave Eiffel mudava o horizonte de Paris, boa parte da França continuava terra incognita. Até mesmo na era dos trens e jornais, ainda havia redes de comunicação pré-histórica e crenças pré-cristinianas. Em uma narrativa deliciosa, Robb descreve em detalhes esse mundo desconhecido e a vida de seus habitantes, de fins do séc. XVII ao início do séc. XX — sempre que possível, a partir de seus próprios pontos de vista. E reconta a épica jornada de cientistas, soldados, administradores, intrépidos turistas, trabalhadores itinerantes. Aprendemos como a França foi descoberta, mapeada, colonizada, e como a influência imperial de Paris gradualmente se estendeu por um reino de cidades e vilas isoladas. Uma das principais teses de A DESCOBERTA DA FRANÇA é que, mesmo no século XXI, há ainda vários locais que precisam ser descobertos. E não apenas a pitoresca França rural, mas os subúrbios superlotados de Paris: Aubervilliers, Saint-Ouen e Saint-Denin, onde os não brancos são rotineiramente humilhados pela polícia, problema que foi a causa de revolta popular em 2005. Com base em fontes sólidas, acadêmicas e extensa pesquisa, e na sua própria viagem, Robb une história à realidade atual para retraçar a diversidade do país neste relato encantador, e mostrar que a França é mais que Paris e uma pequena elite. “Um astuto compêndio sociológico das ideias que a França tem de si mesma.” FranceTelegraph “Um livro cuidadoso e tolerante.” The Nation “Robb escrutina com habilidade a sombria e incompreendida história da França.” Booklist “Elegante, divertido e brilhante.” Guardian

"Ce livre est le résultat de vingt-deux mille cinq cents kilomètres à vélo et quatre années en bibliothèque. Il décrit la vie des habitants de la France de la fin du XVIIe au début du XXe siècle. C''est le guide historique que j''aurais voulu lire lorsque je me suis lancé à la découverte de la France." Chaque été depuis vingt ans, Graham Robb, spécialiste de littérature et cycliste chevronné, parcourt avec son épouse les routes de France. De leurs pérégrinations est né ce livre extraordinaire, qui emmène le lecteur en promenade dans les chemins buissonniers de notre histoire : où l''on découvre le sort tragique de l''homme qui cartographia le premier, en 1740, le mont Gerbier-de-Jonc ; où l''on apprend l''issue cocasse de la bataille de Roquecézière, qui déchira en 1884 deux villages voisins de l''Aveyron; où l''on s''étonne des déboires linguistiques de Racine, lequel eut toutes les peines du monde, lors d''un voyage en Provence en 1661, à se faire comprendre d''une servante valentinoise. Au lecteur de se laisser guider par la plume savoureuse de cet explorateur venu d''outre-Manche : en remontant le cours de l''Histoire pour plonger au coeur de la France d''avant la centralisation, encore sauvage et indomptée, il découvrira un pays dont il ne soupçonnait pas l''existence.

Dans son petit village près d''Oxford, Graham Robb trouve un jour au fond de son jardin une broche datant de l''âge du fer. Ce vestige d''un habitat primitif devient le point de départ d''une quête passionnée, au fil de laquelle l''écrivain met au jour la logique invisible de la géographie et de la cosmologie celtiques. La "voie héracléenne" (l''itinéraire fabuleux d''Hercule traversant l''Europe occidentale avec son troupeau volé) serait ainsi bien plus qu''un mythe : le coeur d''une cartographie symbolique et rigoureuse, orchestrée par la science des druides. Fort de kilomètres de terrain parcourus, d''une plongée dans les sources antiques mais aussi d''outils modernes de cartographie, l''auteur se livre à un éloge inédit de la civilisation celtique, hautement raffinée et injustement éclipsée par son successeur romain. Loin de l''ésotérisme comme du discours académique, Graham Robb privilégie avant tout le plaisir de la narration : de vieilles énigmes trouvent des solutions nouvelles ; calculs et tracés savants côtoient amphores découvertes en plantant des endives, machines astronomiques conservées des millénaires au fond de l''eau, ou encore vieilles cartes jamais décodées...