Do you love France? Do you think you know France?

I do, and I did, until I read this book, F is for France: A Curious Cabinet of French Wonders by Piu Eatwell. I learned so many fun facts in this A to Z of all things France that I just had to share the love with you today, although be warned, I’m sure to be heard dropping little facts and figures into conversation for many months to come.

This book covers things that are popular in France, things first seen in France, French words found in other languages, French historical facts, French etiquette, famous places and landmarks in France, famous French people, French clothing and perfume, French food, customs and traditions, as well as death, the guillotine and the catacombs of Paris. Phew, now that is a lot of France trivia.

· There are the fun facts: explaining the April Fish day traditions.
· The historical facts: what the Revolutionary Calendar was and how it differed from the calendar we know today.
· The bizarre facts: over half the worlds roundabouts are found in France.
· The interesting facts: unlimited self-service ketchup has been banned in school canteens since 2011.
· The Oh My God – really! facts: male impotence was a crime in France in the 16th and 17th centuries and men accused by their wives were required to demonstrate their performance before and expert panel of clergymen and physicians!

I’m not sure there is anything about France that isn’t covered in this book, as there are even some recipes included too.

It really does spread the love for France and would be the perfect gift for the France nerd in your life, and I know because I am a France nerd, who is now a very happy France nerd. Thank you Piu Eatwell.

I came late to this amusing and informative book, which I regret. It’s an amazingly detailed compilation and exploration of what the French would call curiosités or choses insolites but it’s also a broad cultural overview. It's an example of the best of a certain type of book designed to explain France to English-speakers.

Between A and Z you will learn there are more than twenty-five varieties of garlic grown in France, and that the guillotine was designed by a doctor shortly before the French Revolution as a more humane means of execution. Attaching his name to it horrified him, and his family rechristened itself to escape the shame.

FROM ABSINTHE TO ZIDANE
On the way to Zinedine Zidane you will make obligatory stops at Mata Hari, the legendary Dutch dancer executed as a spy (she was really a double agent) near the end of World War I, and a longish section on the history of restaurants, before ending with the entry for Zidane, the former soccer star. He used to be best known for the infamous headbutt during the 2006 World Cup final (which I saw on TV in Paris and will always remember), but he’s since become a respected soccer coach for Real Madrid.

Piu Eatwell is an Oxford graduate now living and writing in Paris, according to her website. She’s written several other books I was aware of but have not reviewed, including They Eat Horses, Don’t They, The Truth About the French, a well reviewed outline of the stories behind the myths Anglophones believe about the French. I found all of them on Amazon.

F is for France was mismarketed, in my view. It should have been sold as a book of much broader general interest, like David Downie’s work, instead of a cabinet of curiosities. But I’m glad I came across it again. For a lover of France and Paris it is both an entertainment and a reference work. It will stay in my library.

My first exposure to F is for France was an advance reader copy I downloaded from Netgalley in 2016 and promptly forgot. When I ran across it again (while I was preparing Netgalley to support the publication of my next novel in a few months), I bought the Kindle version, which is the edition on which this review is based.