Thomas Adams explores the social context in which the French Enlightenment arose by focusing on the response of eighteenth-century French society to the problem of poverty. The institutions (depots) which were established in this period to rehabilitate the poor, Adams argues, came to be regarded as laboratories in which society might be studied scientifically. One premise of such rehabilitation efforts was that government `should not make men poor' by failing to provide employment for the willing worker or to reward his efforts when employed. Adams demonstrates how the history of depots contributed to a transformation of social values that continues to influence the modern world.
Reviews
'richly detailed and scrupulously researched monograph ... excellent merits of a book which structures a truly impressive weight of fresh archival data within a lucid and well-written exposition' T.J. Hochstrasser, Downing College, Cambridge, French History, Vol. 6, No. 4, Dec '92



Book Information
ISBN 9780195051681
Author Thomas McStay Adams
Format Hardback
Page Count 416
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 794g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 162mm * 31mm