Although history is the opinion of whoever decides to interpret certain selected facts a certain way, it’s helpful to know that there are alternative ways to interpret facts so that the French don’t get the glory for many things they think they’re responsible for. W zasadzie autor bierze "pod pióro" każdą niemal francuską świętość i wykazuje, że zawdzięczają ją Brytyjczykom lub że nie mają racji chełpiąc się swoją przewagą. His non-fiction books include Talk to the Snail , an insider's guide to understanding the French; How the French Won Waterloo (or Think They Did) , an amused look at France's continuing obsession with Napoleon; Dirty Bertie: An English King Made in France , a biography of Edward VII; and 1000 Years of Annoying the French , which was a number one bestseller in Britain. The fact that we are now European partners does not, however, take away from the humour, accuracy and brilliance of this book. When I started reading it I was pleased to find so many historical details in each chapter, many of which I was unfamiliar with.

Stephen Clarke takes a potted look at 1000 years of Anglo-French relations from the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066 to President Sarkozy’s visit in 2008 and reveals that all of France’s failures in those thousand years were due to the machinations of the Brits and France’s successes (few and far between, according to Clarke) were actually achieved by someone else who was distinctly not French. The list is long because it being tongue in cheek, “1,000 Years” depicts a France that has nothing to be proud of. The first big laugh I had was when Clarke described William II (informally known as Rufus) of England as "a medieval Paris Hilton" for his indulgences and a love of "make up, dresses and yappy little dogs". Whenever in history the British suffered a loss, the author always comes up with a handy excuse or turns it around so that the British come out as the moral victors. A bonus is that the humor is on point most of the times which by itself this saves the book in many cases.During the Falklands War for example, the right wing press in the UK insisted that the French were helping Argentina because the equipment used in the invasion had been sold to them by the French.

Even the French Revolution is a bit of a myth – the Bastille contained only a handful of prisoners when it was stormed, and the 1789 uprising wasn’t an attempt to make France a republic at all – the first revolutionaries wanted a “British-style” monarchy. O, delikatnie rzecz ujmując, skomplikowanych stosunkach pomiędzy dwoma wielkimi narodami, z humorem (często wyjątkowo czarnym! Although, this is not a complete recount of the events and more so, a quick and light skim over the history.Edith Piaf and Coco Chanel: both were pro Nazi (to add to the fun, on page 448 the Wehrmacht troops are depicted whistling “Non Rien de Rien”, a song that has only been written in 1960 by Charles Dumont.

The wackiest claim of all, though, has to be the accusation that the Brits killed Napoleon by poisoning his wallpaper. The love is easy to explain – despite what we might say in public, we find each other irresistibly sexy. Sometimes they’re right – we have done some nasty things to the French in the past – but often they’re hilariously wrong, and I have tried to set the record straight.Luckily I have a French Canadian husband so he can do my speaking for me as I tend to freeze up when spoken to in French. It delves into the history between the British and French and why they have been at each others throats for years. In many cases, as the book has a clear anti-French bias (albeit tongue-in-cheek apparently) Clarke takes pains to point out where our common understanding of the influence of France on history is misplaced. Despite it being a whimsical ride for the most part, it did drag from time to time, and I was glad to get it over with. And now it’s time to put our differences aside and start working together as one people, living together on the same planet and facing the same problems.

Beginning with William the Conqueror (not French) and ending with Nicolas Sarkozy (French), Clarke covers a fair bit of ground including food, battles, trade, battles, Canada, battles, wine, battles, Voltaire, battles, the French Revolution and battles. Stephen Clarke zabiera czytelnika w trwającą tysiąc lat podróż, w sposób niezwykle malowniczy dowodząc, iż małostkowość, krótkowzroczność, zazdrość i zwykła złośliwość, cechująca zarówno "wybitne" jednostki, jak i całe masy ludzkie zamieszkujące tereny obu państw - tak, moim zdaniem zarówno Anglii, jak i Francji obrywa się tutaj po równo - prowadzą do opłakanych skutków, kosztujących nierzadko życia setek tysięcy ludzi. With such an amazing portrayal of French hypocrisy and silliness I think “1,000 Years” would fit nicely on the book shelves of Francophobes. However, I liked how the book was split into sections and the actual information was very readable as well. It's to be hoped he's written a similar book from a French perspective, given that he now lives and works in Paris!For example, Joan of Arc was actually sentenced to death not because she could hear the voice of God but because she wore trousers (it’s slightly more complicated than that but that’s the gist of it. During World War II, the British hated their French allies almost as much as they hated their Soviet allies.