French St. Louis

“One of the most refreshing and illuminating aspects of this collection is the inclusion of women not merely as individual characters but as intrinsic parts of the history and historiography. . . . Patricia Cleary’s chapter on fashion is exemplary in portraying St. Louis’s rich economic, political, and cultural history and its connections to far-flung places. . . . Delightful and deeply insightful. Its chapters speak to one another, creating a collection that holds together surprisingly well. One could read the book from cover to cover, finding connections.”—Kathleen DuVal, Missouri Historical Review

“This meticulously edited collection reframes the ongoing conversation on the often-confusing history of a special urban landscape—St. Louis—broadening its diverse meaning and multicultural impact through a model lens by which all early American cities may be profitably studied.”—John Neal Hoover, author of A Nation, a City, and Its First Library: Americana at the St. Louis Mercantile Library for 175 Years

"[French St. Louis] can foster a better understanding of our present and our future for all of us."—Missouri Life

"This volume is a commendable venture to tell the French story of the founding of interior America. The project's inception during the sestercentennial year of St. Louis's founding yielded fruitful results with the recent publication of this book. A valuable read for American historians."—Dan Shannon, Denver Posse of Westerners