First Published in 2004. Power and Politics in Old Regime France is a major history of the politics of the first half of the reign of Louis XV. It is based on exhaustive archival research and offers the first comprehensive analysis of the neglected ministries of the duc de Bourbon and the cardinal de Fleury. Peter R. Campbell deals first with court, faction and policy. A second section offers new interpretations of the crises provoked by Jansenism and the Paris parlement. By contrasting the methods and practices of political management in this period of successful government with the crisis of the old regime in the 1780s, he illuminates the underlying character of politics in the old regime and raises new questions about its collapse. An unusually substantial bibliography represents an invaluable resource to the researcher.

About the Author
Dr. Peter R. Campbell is a Lecturer in History in the School of European Studies, University of Sussex. His other publications include The Ancien Regime in France (Oxford, 1988) and Louis XIV (London, 1993)Peter R. Campbell

Reviews

'Dr Peter Campbell is to be congratulated on a bold, important and learned work' -Literary Review

'[Peter Campbell] has given a valuable synthesis of recent work on seventeenth-century France' - Times Literary Supplement

'Bulges with stimulating insights and bright ideas.' - French History

'A rare snapshot of how high politics actually worked ... With this manual in hand the reader could survive at the court of Louis XV - and probably score.' - History Today

Book Information
ISBN 9780415755702
Author Peter Campbell
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 612g