France Cats

The landmark history of France and French culture in the 18th century, a winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

What do fairy tales, such as “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Hansel and Gretel,” have to do with French peasant life in the eighteenth century? What does a cat massacre reveal about the relationship between artisans and the bourgeois in early modern France? In Robert Darnton’s, The "Great Cat Massacre," the underlying themes of fairy tales and the circumstances surrounding a large killing of cats provide the answers to these questions and reveal the attitudes and concerns of peasants and artisans in eighteenth century France.

Meet Eliza Bennett, a brilliant but slightly klutzy textile scientist with a passion for dressage and a penchant for solving mysteries. Alongside is her charming and incredibly smart orange tabby cat, Merlin—who just happens to talk They travel across Europe, attending conferences and riding lessons. But wherever they go, trouble seems to follow. In this delightful cozy mystery, Eliza and Merlin stumble upon yet another murder. With Eliza's scientific expertise and Merlin's uncanny sleuthing skills, this duo unravels twisted plots and uncovers hidden secrets, all while navigating the ...

Suzy is a small striped cat with long white whiskers, who lives in a French seaside village with a fisherman and his four sons. She likes living in France, chasing butterflies and being stroked the wrong way. She doesn't like straying too far from home. But like all cats, Suzy is very inquisitive - which causes problems when she climbs into the basket of a hot-air balloon, falls asleep, and is carried up, up, and away over the Channel to England!

I’m Honorio, a noble cat. No brag, just fact. On vacation in a mysterious part of France with pink swamps, wild and free white horses and a wandering ghostly salt-marsh woman. My eccentric “owner,” her two devoted friends, and I, are eye-witnesses to a sudden and shocking murder! Was it murder? It was there in the room of this terribly tragic-looking, twisted, creepy mask that some archaeologists unearthed and maybe should not have. The detective in me that I was . . . that I am . . .moves into action. I detect a number of quirky people who are suspicious, if not downright fishy—...

In the early 18th century, 80 years prior to revolution, France went wild for stocks and bonds. Mechanics dropped their tools and tradesmen closed their shops. There was but one profession, one employment, one occupation for persons of all ranks, from peasant to prince. And that profession was speculating in stocks. This is the story of John Law, the adventurous Scotsman played chance against an entire nation.

Near the end of the 19th century, Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, brought the plenipotentiaries of all major powers of Europe together to deal with Africa's colonization in such a manner as to avoid provocation of war. This event, known as the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, galvanized a phenomenon that came to be known as the Scramble for Africa.

Want to teach your children about France and the French culture? Whether going on holiday trip to France, moving there to live, or just for education's sake, this little book is here to help explain it all to your youngsters. Think of it as a mini French culture class, with plenty of fun en route.

The Norman Conquest of England was that series of events during the latter part of the 11th century by which a Norman Duke was set on the throne of England, and was enabled to hand down the crown of England to his descendants. The Norman Conquest of England means a great deal more than the mere transfer of the crown from one prince or one family to another. It means a great number of changes of all kinds which have made the history and state of England ever since very different from what they would have been if the Norman Conquest had never happened.