French connection : Australia's cosmopolitan ambitions / Alexis Bergantz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bergantz, Alexis, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cosmopolitanism--Australia.

Cosmopolitanism.

Cultural relations.

Social history.

National characteristics, French.

Australia--Relations--France.

Australia.

France--Relations--Australia.

France.

Social Conditions.

social history.

Medical Subjects:

Social Conditions.

Physical Description:

194 pages, [8] pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly colour), ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Sydney, New South Wales : NewSouth Publishing, 2021.

Summary:

The French have been integral to the Australian story since European colonisation. Escaped convicts from New Caledonia, wool buyers from Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing, gold-diggers, artisans, teachers and cafe owners, they were not always the creme de la creme. French Connection provides a fascinating insight into how the culture of Frenchness influenced a new nation anxious to prove itself to the world. What did Australian colonists see when they looked to France? How much did the French presence in the Pacific loom over such ideas? And what did the French in Australia themselves make of it all? Alexis Bergantz uncovers the little known and often surprising history of the French in nineteenth-century Australia and their role in creating a more connected and cosmopolitan nation.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. A glittering, raucous ritual: French cafes and culture

2. A battle for control: Alliance and misalliance

3. The scum of France: A reckoning with Australia's convict past

4. French migrants: The creme de la creme'

5. A matter of honour: Frenchness on trial

6. Fading family ties to France: Two diarists' views.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781742237091

1742237096

OCLC:

1260634717