Graham robb brings a wonderful tour dhorizon of france between 1750 and 1914 not the france that we usually know with its sun kings enlightened philosophers and corsican emperors but quite the contrary of it the closed village communities with their incomprehensible dialects their superstition and their distrust of all what was strange and with their precarious survival economy. The discovery of france a historical geography from the revolution to the first world war is a book by graham robb it was published in september 2007 in the united kingdom by picador and in october 2007 in the united states by w w norton and company the book a result of cycling 14000 miles around france coupled with four years of research is an in depth examination of french national identity as seen through the diverse cultures and languages contained within the country. Graham robb knows a lot of france as well as knowing a lot about france his book is a patchwork portrait part history part topography part sociology as one who has grown up within a nation that can trace its roots back for centuries i was immediately struck by the authors account of how slowly france evolved as a single country. The discovery of france a historical geography from the revolution to the first world war by graham robb janet d stone armstrong atlantic state university search for more papers by this author janet d stone armstrong atlantic state university