Graham Robb Books

"Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on twentieth-century culture. He was the first poet to devise a scientifically plausible method for changing the nature of existence, the first to live a homosexual adventure as a model for social change, and the first to repudiate the myths on which his reputation still depends. Rimbaud's abandonment of poetry in his early twenties has caused more lasting, widespread consternation than the break-up of the Beatles. Even in the mid-1880s, when the French Decadents were hailing him as a 'Messiah', he was already several reincarnations from his starting point." "Robb's Rimbaud is a biographical journey through three continents and many different identities: the Bohemian poet in Victorian London, the mercenary in Java, the gunrunner and explorer in East Africa. By allowing the boy poet to grow up, Robb casts his later years in an entirely new light."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

`Intellectually thrilling, psychologically acute and very wittily written: a worthy offering to its subject' Observer schovat popis

‘One of the best biographies I have read, ever’ – Selina Hastings. ‘Mr. Robb has written an enthralling book – one of the great biographies of our time. He makes Hugo’s life a story as exciting to read as it was extraordinary to have lived. His narrative gift is matchless, with a compelling style and fair judgments that Hugo was not accustomed to in life’ – Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph. ‘Robb achieves the goal of all good literary biographies by making us long to regain, or savor for the first time, Hugo’s company as a writer. No chronicler has ever looked this prodigy of nature so unflinchingly in the eye’ – Jonathan Keates, Literary Review. ‘Graham Robb’s exuberant biography of the French writer blows the cobwebs away from a neglected hero and presents him in unforgettable shape. Robb’s jaunty style is gloriously appropriate to his subject. His enthusiasm is hugely exhilarating, making this biography a fascinating study in the making of a celebrity’ – Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times, Books of the Year. ‘The best life of the writer available in English (and likely to remain so for some time). His fascinating, totally readable work will introduce Hugo to many readers who know him only as a name’ – Robin Buss, Independent on Sunday.

From maps, migration and magic, to linguistic differences and tribal disputes, The Discovery of France tells the whole story of this remarkable - and surprising - country.

The New York Times bestseller: the secrets of the City of Light, revealed in the lives of the great, the near-great, and the forgotten by the author of the acclaimed The Discovery of France.

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Graham Robb's The Ancient Paths will change the way you see European civilization. Inspired by a chance discovery, Robb became fascinated with the world of the Celts: their gods, their art, and, most of all, their sophisticated knowledge of science. His investigations gradually revealed something extraordinary: a lost map, of an empire constructed with precision and beauty across vast tracts of Europe. The map had been forgotten for almost two millennia and its implications were astonishing. Minutely researched and rich in revelations, The Ancient Paths brings to life centuries of our distant history and reinterprets pre-Roman Europe. Told with all of Robb's grace and verve, it is a dazzling, unforgettable book.

An authoritative, original and exciting history of the French nation, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Discovery of France and Parisians.

Describes a discovery the author made in the Alps, which uncovered a treasure trove of Druid celestial mathematics that mapped out the entire geography of ancient Europe, and discusses the implications of this new information.