History of the Protestants of France

This sweeping history of French Protestantism is more than a chronicle of persecution: it is a forceful defense of liberty of conscience, private judgment, and resistance to priestly domination. From the Reformation's first stirrings at Meaux to the siege of La Rochelle, it follows the Huguenots as a people shaped by courage, suffering, and the struggle to preserve both faith and freedom. The author writes from within the Reformed cause, correcting what he sees as a gap in historical writing while claiming fairness toward all sides. The narrative traces the rise of reformers such as Farel, Calvin, and Théodore de Bèze, the spread of organized churches and synods, the wars of religion, the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, and the fragile hopes embodied in Henry IV and the Edict of Nantes. It then shows how royal suspicion, Catholic pressure, and Richelieu's determination to destroy La Rochelle turned religious conflict into a battle over national power. In its closing reflections, the book warns that religious oppression and civil tyranny are inseparable, and that the fate of France itself hung on the fate of its Protestants. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.