Tour de France Frankreich in kleinen Geschichten

This book contains 44 short stories from France, organized geographically in the first part and historically in the second part. Many of the contents are well-known. However, there is nothing new to tell about Joan of Arc, for example. And it would be impossible not to mention the Sunday chicken in the pot of good King Henry IV or the last word spoken at the Battle of Waterloo. Yet, this book offers some insights that many readers may not have known before. For instance, where does the word "poubelle" for trash can come from? What are or were the "chassemarees," the sea fish hunters? What does the painter Auguste Renoir have to do with Limoges porcelain? What does Alsace have to do with storks? What does the sample case of the traveling salesman have to do with the marmot? Irène Kuhn tells these stories in a language that is no more difficult than that of general-interest newspapers.