James F. McMillan is Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of France and Women 1789-1914 (Routledge 2000), and Twentieth Century France (Arnold 1992).

As one might expect from such a distinguished team of historians of France, all the contributions are of a very high standard, and manage to be authoritative without being didactic.

• Introduction ; 1. POLITICS, 1880-1914 ; 2. Politics, 1914-1945 ; 3. Politics, 1945-2000 ; 4. France, Europe, and the Wider World ; 5. THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY ; 6. The Condition of Women and the Politics of Gender ; 7. Intellectuals and Culture ; 8. Religion and Secularisation ; Conclusion ; Further Reading ; Chronology ; Maps