Calling all Francophiles

July 14 is Bastille Day: French citizens celebrate the storming of the Bastille (a prison known for holding political prisoners) by outraged Parisians in 1789 during the French Revolution.

A subject search in the library catalog for

France OR French

in the Loudoun Campus Library (to search by subject only on just our campus, select "Advanced Search," enter keywords as "Subject," and limit results to "NOVA-Loudoun") comes up with 672 items for lovers of all things France.

Why not try Caroline Weber's Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution (GT 865 .W37 2006)? From Booklist: "One revolution in women's accoutrements, unfortunately, was swapped for another more deadly revolution in politics and freedom."

Or perhaps, if you study horticulture, Ian Thompson's The Sun King’s Garden: Louis XIV, Andre Le Nôtre, and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles (SB 470.L4 T46 2006) would be more up your alley. Are Versailles' gardens "the most extensive gardens the Western world has ever seen" (book description)?

With July 4 just days behind us, American history buffs or those interested in international diplomacy might enjoy A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Pulitzer-winner Stacy Schiff (E 183.8.F8 S35 2005). Publishers Weekly calls this book "a graceful, sly and smart look at [Benjamin Franklin's] seven-year sojourn in France in his quasi-secret quest to secure American independence by procuring an alliance with the French."

Happy reading!