That Sweet Enemy Britain and France: The History of a Love-Hate Relationship

That Sweet Enemybrings both British wit (Robert Tombs is a British historian) and French panache (Isabelle Tombs is a French historian) to bear on three centuries of the history of Britain and France. From Waterloo to Chirac's slandering of British cooking, the authors chart this cross-channel entanglement and the unparalleled breadth of cultural, economic, and political influence it has wrought on both sides, illuminating the complex and sometimes contradictory aspects of this relationshiprivalry, enmity, and misapprehension mixed with envy, admiration, and genuine affectionand the myriad ways it has shaped the modern world. Written with wit and elegance, and illustrated with delightful images and cartoons from both sides of the Channel,That Sweet Enemyis a unique and immensely enjoyable history, destined to become a classic.

Robert Tombs was born in England, studied at Cambridge and conducted doctoral research on modern French history in France, where he was connected to the Université de Paris IV (Sorbonne). Isabelle Tombs was born in France, studied at the Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and received a Ph.D in modern British history at Trinity College, Cambridge. Presently, Isabelle teaches French to British diplomats at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. Robert teaches history at Cambridge University, where he is a Fellow of St John's College. They share dual nationality and live in Cambridge, England.


From the Hardcover edition.