Description
His latest book vibrates with the strange political and literary energies of ancien regime France. The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France traces the merging of philosophical, sexual, and anti-monarchical interests into the pulp fiction of the 1780s, banned books that make fascinating reading more than two centuries later.
French literature of the eighteenth century means to us today Rousseau and Voltaire and the "classic" texts that, we imagine, gave rise to the Revolution. Yet very few of the standard works of the Enlightenment were as widely read as books whose names we have never heard, books that were the currency of a huge literary underground during the reign of Louis XVI. Included in this volume are Darnton's translations of excerpts from three of these works.
After twenty-five years of research, Darnton has summarized his findings in one brilliant work that examines the reciprocal relationship between private literature and the public world, the (illegal) spread of Enlightenment thought, and the interesting possibility that the writings of some not-so-famous authors contributed to the fall of the French aristocracy.
About the Author
Robert Darnton is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and University Librarian, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is the author of many acclaimed, widely translated works in French history that have won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. A scholar of global stature, he is a Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur and winner of the National Humanities Medal. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Reviews
"A gripping portrait of the social, literary, and political dynamics at work in prerevolutionary France." -- Michiko Kakutani - New York Times
Awards
Winner of National Book Critics Circle Award 1995.
Book Information
ISBN 9780393314427
Author Robert Darnton
Format Paperback
Page Count 466
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 140mm * 23mm
French literature of the eighteenth century means to us today Rousseau and Voltaire and the "classic" texts that, we imagine, gave rise to the Revolution. Yet very few of the standard works of the Enlightenment were as widely read as books whose names we have never heard, books that were the currency of a huge literary underground during the reign of Louis XVI. Included in this volume are Darnton's translations of excerpts from three of these works.
After twenty-five years of research, Darnton has summarized his findings in one brilliant work that examines the reciprocal relationship between private literature and the public world, the (illegal) spread of Enlightenment thought, and the interesting possibility that the writings of some not-so-famous authors contributed to the fall of the French aristocracy.
About the Author
Robert Darnton is Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and University Librarian, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is the author of many acclaimed, widely translated works in French history that have won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. A scholar of global stature, he is a Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur and winner of the National Humanities Medal. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Reviews
"A gripping portrait of the social, literary, and political dynamics at work in prerevolutionary France." -- Michiko Kakutani - New York Times
Awards
Winner of National Book Critics Circle Award 1995.
Book Information
ISBN 9780393314427
Author Robert Darnton
Format Paperback
Page Count 466
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 140mm * 23mm
