| Abstract | A review article on the recent English-language edition of Pierre Nora's three-volume history of French national memory: Realms of Memory. Nora's work focuses on three distinct issues: the ideological themes that had to be merged in French national memory after the revolution of 1789, significant sites that were inscribed with the ideas and sentiments of French nationalism, and potent symbols like Joan of Arc that mediated different political interests and sustained a sense of national past over a protracted period of time. It illustrates his understanding of memory as a collective construction and representation of the past that creates inspiring and unifying myths.
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