The Shaping of French National Identity

Matthew D'Auria is a Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of East Anglia. His main research interest lies in the relationship between images of the nation and discourses about Europe. Among his many publications on this topic are, with Mark Hewitson (eds.), Europe in Crisis: Intellectuals and the European Idea, 1917–1957 (2021) and, with Jan Vermeiren (eds.), Visions and Ideas of Europe During the First World War (2019). He is currently coediting, with Cathie Carmichael and Aviel Roshwald, The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism (forthcoming).

• Introduction. Narrating the Nation: From the Nineteenth to the Eighteenth Century; Part I: 1. Race, Blood, and Lineage: The Nobility's National Narrative and the History of France; 2. History and Race: The Subject of Boulainvilliers's National Narrative; 3. Debating the Nation's History: From Royal(ist) to Ethnic Origins; Part II: 4. Thinking the Nation's Character: At the Crossroads of Literature, Anthropology, and History; 5. Moral and Physical Causes: Montesquieu's History of Nations; 6. Discussing the Nation's History: Franks, Gauls, and the French Character; Part III: 7. Classifying the Nation: The Past(s) of 'Social Classes' Before and After the Revolution; 8. A Bourgeois National Narrative: On Augustin Thierry's Réforme Historique; 9. Debating the Nation's Past(s): Giving the Bourgeoisie its History; Conclusion.

'Matthew D'Auria has written an important contribution to our understanding of French nationalism and French identity. His lucid and engaging book shows how intellectual debates about the origins of France resulted in the production of a powerful narrative about the national past that has ever since shaped the way the French understand themselves.' David A. Bell, Princeton University