France

John Cookson asks what might have happened had Napoleon actually landed on British soil in 1803-5.

Mike Cronin and Richard Holt discover the roots of international sport in France.

Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France, on July 19th, 1903, by a margin of almost three hours.

Natalia Griffon de Pleineville remembers a career soldier in Napoleon's army who won distinctions for his energy and commitment over twenty years, but who made a decisive mistake in 1813.

Roger Price examines the career of Louis-Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his position in French historiography.

Robert Knecht looks at the ‘eminence rouge’ and considers how his image, carefully crafted during his lifetime, has become that of a demonic schemer.

British reaction to the French tragedy at sea immortalised in Géricault’s masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa.

The essay entitled 'How important was the press in the desacralisation of the French monarchy in 1789?', by Olivia Grant of St Paul's Girls' School, was awarded the Julia Wood Prize out of 136 entries. An edited version appears below; a second award was made to Richard Eschwege of City of London School for an essay on Pope Gregory VII.

Pamela Pilbeam celebrates the bicentenary of the arrival of Madame Tussaud's waxworks in Britain.

Colin Jones discusses the art and artifice of the leading mistress of Louis XV.