When we think of France we tend think of fine food & wine the elegant boulevards of Paris or the chic beaches of St Tropez Yet as the largest country in Europe France is home to extraordinary diversity The idea of ' Frenchness' emerged through 2000 years of history & it is this riveting story from the Roman conquest of Gaul to the present day that Cecil Jenkins tells of the forging of this great nation through its significant people & events & and its fascinating culture As he unfolds this narrative Jenkins shows why the French began to see themselves as so different from the rest of Europe but also why today the French face the same problems with regard to identity as so many other European nations