Modern France: A History in Documents is an unrivalled stand-alone resource that introduces students to French history, literature, and culture through a collection of over 250 primary sources made up of images, maps and, mainly, documents, many of which are translated into English here for the first time.

The eleven main chapters focus on pivotal moments in modern French history, ranging from the collapse of the Old Régime and the outbreak of the French Revolution to contemporary struggles concerning identity and inclusion in France's postcolonial present. Each chapter provides a succinct overview of the period and a generous selection of readings touching on the following interrelated themes and topics:

* Authority, sovereignty, and autonomy
* Labor, class, and revolt
* Gender, race, and identity
* Religion, sexuality, and tolerance

Every chapter is supplemented by timelines, questions for discussion and up-to-date recommendations for further reading. The editor, Philip Whale, provides both a general introduction and chapter specific introductions and the book includes a varied assortment of longer sources and shorter snippets. There is also a healthy mix of documents authored by lesser-known individuals and towering figures in French history and culture, such as Montesquieu, Louis XVI, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Proust, Baudelaire, George Sand, Robespierre and Simone de Beauvoir, to give you a rounded understanding of how France has evolved since the late 18th century.

Philip Whalen is Professor of History at Coastal Carolina University, USA. He has written or edited five books, including French Historians, 1900-2000 (2010) and Place and Locality in Modern France (Bloomsbury Academic, 2014; with Patrick Young).

Mélanie Giraud is Lecturer and French Language and Culture Coordinator at Coastal Carolina University, USA