Richard Ballard is an historian of France who specialises in cultural, social, economic and personal histories, so essential for making the backdrop of huge political movements, from revolutions and war, come to life. The period of early modern France was a zenith of French glory as typified and personalised by Louis XIV. This approach makes for absorbing reading for both specialists, students and, above all, for general readers. The author's range is wide and he has published on late medieval France during the period of the Hundred Years War and the French Revolution, all full of fascinating experiences at multiple levels, and from Paris to the provinces. He brings history into personal and even every-day contact. He writes with flair and is a good read, while deeply researching in French archives - national and provincial - and rare sources. He has long been resident in the Charent-Maritime and is now in the Avenue de Saint-Cloud at Versailles, good for archive access and modern French cultural life. He read history at Oxford and taught history at Eton College, Wells Cathedral School, Haileybury College and Westminster School. His publications include The Unseen Terror: The French Revolution in the Provinces; A New Dictionary of the French Revolution and England, France and Aquitaine: From Victory to Defeat in the Hundred Years War (Pen and Sword 2020). He is a gifted illustrator and has provided drawings of architectural buildings and features to support photographs.

Select Guide Rating

Richard Ballard is an historian of France who specialises in cultural, social, economic and personal histories, so essential for making the backdrop of huge political movements, from revolutions and war, come to life. The period of early modern France was a zenith of French glory as typified and personalised by Louis XIV. This approach makes for absorbing reading for both specialists, students and, above all, for general readers. The author's range is wide and he has published on late medieval France during the period of the Hundred Years War and the French Revolution, all full of fascinating experiences at multiple levels, and from Paris to the provinces. He brings history into personal and even every-day contact. He writes with flair and is a good read, while deeply researching in French archives - national and provincial - and rare sources. He has long been resident in the Charent-Maritime and is now in the Avenue de Saint-Cloud at Versailles, good for archive access and modern French cultural life. He read history at Oxford and taught history at Eton College, Wells Cathedral School, Haileybury College and Westminster School. His publications include The Unseen Terror: The French Revolution in the Provinces; A New Dictionary of the French Revolution and England, France and Aquitaine: From Victory to Defeat in the Hundred Years War (Pen and Sword 2020). He is a gifted illustrator and has provided drawings of architectural buildings and features to support photographs.

Select Guide Rating

Richard Ballard is an historian of France who specialises in cultural, social, economic and personal histories, so essential for making the backdrop of huge political movements, from revolutions and war, come to life. The period of early modern France was a zenith of French glory as typified and personalised by Louis XIV. This approach makes for absorbing reading for both specialists, students and, above all, for general readers. The author's range is wide and he has published on late medieval France during the period of the Hundred Years War and the French Revolution, all full of fascinating experiences at multiple levels, and from Paris to the provinces. He brings history into personal and even every-day contact. He writes with flair and is a good read, while deeply researching in French archives - national and provincial - and rare sources. He has long been resident in the Charent-Maritime and is now in the Avenue de Saint-Cloud at Versailles, good for archive access and modern French cultural life. He read history at Oxford and taught history at Eton College, Wells Cathedral School, Haileybury College and Westminster School. His publications include The Unseen Terror: The French Revolution in the Provinces; A New Dictionary of the French Revolution and England, France and Aquitaine: From Victory to Defeat in the Hundred Years War (Pen and Sword 2020). He is a gifted illustrator and has provided drawings of architectural buildings and features to support photographs.

Select Guide Rating