This section offers a look at life in France from within - French culture, French institutions, and also what it was like from a foreigner's perspective to live in France. See the Travel in France section for articles on France from the traveler's and tourist's perspective.

New Year's Day in the Vosges (Cassell's Family Paper, 1860)

Part of the celebration in this French region was the erection of a great New Year's tree - part Christmas tree, part Maypole - that was believed to protect the town throughout the year.

Balls and Parties in France (Peterson's Magazine, 1865)

What Becomes of the Dresses of Queens? (Peterson's Magazine, 1865)

Fascinating little article on how the cast-off gowns of the French court are sold each year for charity.

Artists' Homes (Demorest, 1873)

Homes of artists in a painter's colony in Ecouen, France.

The Mont-de-Piete (Harper's Monthly, 1873A)

"A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from the later Middle Ages times till today." (Wikipedia)

Homes Abroad (Demorest, 1874)

Domestic life in France.

Practice and Patronage of French Art, by S.G.W. Benjamin (Atlantic Monthly, 1875)

A Tin of Sardines (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

On the sardine fishing industry of Brittany.

The French Republic: Its Constitution, Progress, Policy, and Prospects (Harper's Monthly, 1881A)

French School-Girls (Girl's Own Paper, 1881)

A Curious Rolling Bridge (St. Nicholas, 1882B)

A "bridge" between St. Malo and St. Servan, France, that is actually a raised carriage that runs on rails laid on the ocean floor.

Children of All Nations: France, by Anne Beale (Little Folks, 1883)

The French House of Commons (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

May-Day in France, by Annie Kemm (Girl's Own Paper, 1883)

"In spite of the Revolution," old customs such as May-Day still linger in the French countryside.

French Girls, by Anne Beale (Girl's Own Paper, 1884)

Christmas in a French Boarding School (Girl's Own Paper, 1887)

The French Character, Seen Through English Spectacles, by William Burnet (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

Republicanism in France (Century Magazine, 1889A)

The Bretons (Pictorial Museum of Sport & Adventure, ca. 1890)

French Girlhood, by Mme. Guizot de Witte (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

This article looks at the changes to the lives of French girls over the last 30 years, particularly due to the advent of the railways in bringing peoples and even countries closer together.

The Carved Woodwork of Brittany, by Helen Marion Burnside (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

The French Army, by General Lewal (Harper's Monthly, 1891A)

French Girls and Their Mothers, by Isabel Robson (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Provençal Bull-Fights, by Joseph Pennell (Century Magazine, 1891B)

The Feast of the Marys, by Joseph Pennell and Elizabeth Robins Pennell (Century Magazine, 1892A)

A play in Provence, concerning the saints Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe, for whom the town of Saintes-Maries is named.

How French Girls Are Employed, by Helen Zimmern (Girl's Own Paper, 1892)

The Neo-Christian Movement in France, by the Vicomte Eugene Melchior de Vogue (Harper's Monthly, 1892A)

A fascinating look at the social underpinnings of a Christian revival in 1890's France.

School-Girl Life in France, by Henrietta Channing Dana (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

A Woman's Wardrobe in Paris, by Ida Hector (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

State Education of Frenchwomen, by Theodore Stanton (Century Magazine, 1893B)

French Girls in London, by Anne Beale (Girl's Own Paper, 1894)

Conversation in France, by Th. Bentzon (Century Magazine, 1894B)

The Comedie Francaise at Orange, by Thomas A. Janvier (Century Magazine, 1895B)

People Who Face Death: Alpine Guides, by A.E. Bonser (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

Corsican Maidens, Manners and Mysteries (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

A Feast-Day on the Rhone, by T.A. Janvier (Century Magazine, 1896A)

About French Children, by Th. Bentzon (Century Magazine, 1896B)

With lovely illustrations by artist Maurice Boutet de Monvel (see the "Artists" section).

In a French Nobleman's Family, by The Governess (Girl's Own Paper, 1896)

The Christmas Kalends of Provence, by Thomas A. Janvier (Century Magazine, 1897A)

A long but fascinating article on how Christmas was celebrated in Victorian-era Provence, from the gift of grain to St. Barbara to the offering of the lamb on Christmas Eve.

Housekeeping in France (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

On Pottery-Making, by Gertrude Harraden (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

A visit to a pottery workshop on the French Riviera.

St. John's Fires in France, by Georges de Dubor (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

Gallicized English, by Rupert Hughes (Century Magazine, 1898)

From "rostbif" to the "ha-i-la-i-fe," a look at how Victorian French publications adopt and adapt the popular English phrases of the day.

A Sheep-Dog Competition, by James Walter Smith (The Strand, 1898B)

Stilt-Racing, by William G. FitzGerald (The Strand, 1898A)

A curious sport in Bordeaux.

About Some Normandy Dairies, by Lady Georgina Vernon (Girl's Own Paper, 1899)

France's Sea-Fishing, by F.G. Aflalo (English Illustrated Magazine, 1899A)

Truffle-Hunting with Pigs and Dogs, by M. Dinorben Griffith (The Strand, 1900B)

The Complete Art of Barrel-Rolling, by Alder Anderson (Strand, 1901A)

A revival of the sport of barrel-rolling-racing in France.

The Silent Sisters of Anglet, by Sir George Newnes, Bart. (Strand, 1901A)

A Bernardine convent near Biarritz, France.

The French Protestants, by Ada Cone (Sunday Strand, 1902)

See also

• Paris

• Travel in France