Taking a piss out of the French somehow gave such satisfaction, that at times I got uneasy with my own Francophobic feelings. The humorous aspect of the book also gave it a very irreverent tone, which didn't bother me except that it too often derailed in salacious gossipy remarks that were often NOT entirely true or based in fact. Not surprisingly, these aspects are key in establishing the book's unique charm - un très bon read, overall! On hindsight, this is a really good book to get yourself familiar with the history of these two countries, even if you're not from either of them.

Stephen Clarke takes a penetrating look into those murky depths, guiding us through all the times when Britain and France have been at war - or at least glowering at each other across the English Channel. One of the most frequent questions I get when doing readings and talks is: why is there such a love-hate relationship between the French and the Brits? Although, this is not a complete recount of the events and more so, a quick and light skim over the history. Images of dramatic encounters with les Français flashed before my eyes, until it got me to the point that I could identify the main cause: a traumatic experience from my childhood in which an extremely fat monsieur shouted at me for not having a ticket for the carousel.

This is a very long book, nearly 700 pages, as might be expected from a book that covers a millenium's worth of Anglo-French relations in great detail. Essentially, a two-century-old defeat is brandished in the face of every French visitor to Britain’s diplomatic headquarters … in France’s own capital city. Mary Queen of Scots passing was treated with indifference by the Scots (a people she had little regard for) and was designed to annoy - yes you've guessed - the French. Having said that, Clarke is very blunt in his condemning of certain British atrocities mentioned during his rather thorough journey through Anglo-French history, as well as being quick to point out some specific flaws manifested by the Brits.

Even the French Revolution is a bit of a myth – the Bastille contained only a handful of prisoners when it was stormed, and the 1789 uprising wasn’t an attempt to make France a republic at all – the first revolutionaries wanted a “British-style” monarchy. Bardzo zabawna i pouczająca książka, która pozwoli Wam zrozumieć skomplikowane relacje polityczne i kulturowe pomiędzy dwoma państwami, jak również - przez pryzmat omówionego tu "tysiąclecia" - pomoże zyskać lepszy ogląd na najświeższe wydarzenia zachodzące w Wielkiej Brytanii i na kontynencie. France also blames the treacherous Anglais for killing Joan of Arc, but she was burnt after being captured by French soldiers and tried as a witch by Parisian monks. Despite it being a whimsical ride for the most part, it did drag from time to time, and I was glad to get it over with. It’s pretty comprehensive, coming in at just under 650 pages, and it’s not all as good as the rest of it.

A whole country being invaded by their ‘archenemy’ or a few islands that were given up with some shoulder shrugging, well sentiment could be a bit different, don’t you think?

However this book brought the whole story of the French and English to light in a very entertaining and readable style.

The wackiest claim of all, though, has to be the accusation that the Brits killed Napoleon by poisoning his wallpaper. At times the book suffers from this kind of reasoning, but these are rather spots on a further well-investigated book.

There was almost no resistance on the islands, so compared to the French the islanders were a bunch of Nazi-sympathizers…right? For all the verbal attacks on the French and their history, author Stephen Clarke obviously holds the country and its people in high regard. The list is long because it being tongue in cheek, “1,000 Years” depicts a France that has nothing to be proud of. This is done on purpose, the humoristic tone is added to make the story a bit less dry and more entertaining.The book covers the disputes and arguments between les Anglais and the French, from William the Conqueror to present day.