"Conflict between England and France was a fact of life for centuries, but few realize that its origins date from the time of the Vikings, when a Norse chieftain named Rollo established himself and his progeny in Normandy. In this compelling and entertaining history, Mary McAuliffe takes the reader back to those dark and turbulent times when Rollo's descendants, the dukes of Normandy, asserted their dominance over the weak French monarchy--a dominance...

"Vividly portrays the City of Light during the tumultuous 1930s. The decade was marked by violence at home and the rise of Hitler abroad, even as glamour prevailed in fashion and Surrealism sparked new forms of artistic creativity"--

"Traces the profound transformation of the City of Light during Napoleon III's Second Empire, as he and Georges Haussmann completely rebuilt Paris in less than two decades" --