General Gazan de la Peyrière: Fighting for Napoleon
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.
France
Napoleon III: ‘Hero’ or ‘Grotesque Mediocrity’?
Roger Price examines the career of Louis-Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his position in French historiography.
Cardinal Richelieu: Hero or Villain?
The image of Cardinal Richelieu, carefully crafted during his lifetime, soon became that of a demonic schemer. How?
Britain and the Medusa Shipwreck
The French tragedy at sea, immortalised in Géricault’s masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa, was put to use in the service of British patriotism.
The Press and Desacralisation
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.
Madame Tussaud and her Waxworks
Pamela Pilbeam celebrates the bicentenary of the arrival of Madame Tussaud's waxworks in Britain.
The Fabrication of Madame de Pompadour
Colin Jones discusses the art and artifice of the leading mistress of Louis XV.
The Development of Protestantism in 16th Century France
Graham Noble investigates the causes of the rise and fall of French Protestantism.
Anne de Montmorency: Great Master, Great Survivor
Glenn Richardson explores the talents and fortune of the 16th-century French courtier who served five kings.
The Strange Death of Émile Zola
The French writer died on 29 September 1902.