A History of Modern French Literature: From the Sixteenth Century to the Twentieth Century

"This is a tremendous achievement, bringing into a single volume much of the best writing and thinking on French literature that is currently available anywhere. It is highly readable, full of energetically pursued arguments, and it will last for a long time, precisely because its notions of history are so flexible and imaginative. The book proves that the history of literature can only benefit from disciplined speculation about the possibilities of the past."--Michael Wood, professor emeritus, Princeton University