That Sweet Enemy: Britain and France: The History of a Love-Hate Relationship (Vintage)

That Sweet Enemy brings both British wit (Robert Tombs is a British historian) and French panache (Isabelle Tombs is a French historian) to bear on three centuries of the history of Britain and France. From Waterloo to Chirac's slandering of British cooking, the authors chart this cross-channel entanglement and the unparalleled breadth of cultural, economic, and political influence it has wrought on both sides, illuminating the complex and sometimes contradictory aspects of this relationship—rivalry, enmity, and misapprehension mixed with envy, admiration, and genuine affection—and the myriad ways it has shaped the modern world. Written with wit and elegance, and illustrated with delightful images and cartoons from both sides of the Channel, That Sweet Enemy is a unique and immensely enjoyable history, destined to become a classic.

a Brilliantly Original Account—narrated From Both Sides—of The Love-hate Relationship Between Britain And France That Began In The Time Of Louis Xiv And Shows No Sign Of Abating.

that Sweet Enemy brings Both British Wit (robert Tombs Is A British Historian) And Gallic Panache (isabelle Tombs Is A French Historian) To Bear On Three Centuries Of The History Of Britain And France. The Authors Take Us From Waterloo To Chirac’s Slandering Of British Cooking, Charting The Cross-channel Entanglement And Its Unparalleled Breadth Of Cultural, Economic And Political Influence. They Illuminate The Complexity Of The Relationship—rivalry, Enmity, Misapprehension And Loathing Mixed With Envy, Admiration And Genuine Affection—and The Ways In Which It Has Shaped The Modern World, From North America To The Middle East To Southeast Asia, And Is Still Shaping Europe Today. They Make Clear That Warfare Between The Two Countries Often Went Hand In Hand With Hardy, If Hidden, Strains Of Anglophilia And Francophilia; Conversely, Though France And Britain Were Allies For Much Of The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, It Has Been An Alliance Almost As Uneasy, As Competitive And As Ambivalent As The Previous Generations Of Warfare.

wonderfully Written—acute, Witty, Consistently Surprising—that Sweet Enemy Is A Triumph: An Eye-opener For The Experts, And A Feast For The General Reader.

the Washington Post - Maya Jasanoff

robert And Isabelle Tombs's Magnificent Survey Is An Important Interpretation Of One Of Europe's Defining Relationships And A Rollicking, Eventful Cultural Tour. That Sweet Enemy Is Indispensable Reading For Anybody Interested In Britain, France Or The Europe They Have Shaped.

From Blenheim and Waterloo to 'Up Yours, Delors' and 'Hop Off You Frogs', the cross-Channel relationship has been one of rivalry, misapprehension and suspicion. But it has also been a relationship of envy, admiration and affection. In the nearly two centuries since the final defeat of Napoleon, France and Britain have spent much of that time as allies - an alliance that has been almost as uneasy, as competitive and as ambivalent as the generations of warfare. Their rivalry both on peace and war, for good and ill, has shaped the modern world, from North America to India in the eighteenth century, in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and it is still shaping Europe today. This magisterial book, by turns provocative and delightful, always fascinating, tells the rich and complex story of the relationship over three centuries, from the beginning of the great struggle for mastery during the reign of Louis XIV to the second Iraq War and the latest enlargement of the EU. It tells of wars and battles, ententes and alliances, but also of food, fashion, sport, literature, sex and music. Its cast ranges from William and Mary to Tony Blair, from Voltaire to Eric Cantona; its sources from ambassadorial dispatches to police reports, from works of philosophy to tabloid newspapers, from guidebooks to cartoons and films. It's a book which brings both British humour and Gallic panache to the story of these two countries, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, in victory and in defeat, in dominance and in decline. In the last two centuries, while France and Britain have spent much of that time as allies, that alliance has been almost as uneasy, as competitive and as ambivalent as the generations of warfare. Their rivalry, for good and ill, has shaped the modern world, from North America to the Middle East and SE Asia, and it is still shaping Europe today. This book tells the rich and complex story of the relationship over three centuries, from the reign of Louis XIV to the second Iraq War and the latest expansion of the EU. A story of wars and alliances, but also of food, fashion, sport, literature, sex and music. "That Sweet Enemy" brings both British humour and Gallic panache to the story of the two countries, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, in triumph and in defeat, in dominance and in decline