I am a free-range historian of the long nineteenth century (1789-1918). My work explores episodes and themes that connect Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
My most recent book, Habsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire (Harvard) shows how European and Mexican fears of American empire culminated to establish a European monarchy on Mexican soil.
Books in order of publication:
Industry and Politics in Rural France, 1870-1914 – 1994
France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart – 2000
The Tragic Tale of Claire Ferchaud and the Great War – 2005
The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in The Age of Empire – 2011
Habsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire – 2024
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