A new edition of James Collins's acclaimed synthesis that challenged longstanding views of the origins of modern states and absolute monarchy through an analysis of early modern Europe's most important continental state. Incorporating recent scholarship on the French state and his own research, James Collins has revised the text throughout. He examines recent debates on 'absolutism'; presents a fresh interpretation of the Fronde and of French society in the eighteenth century; includes additional material on French colonies and overseas trade; and ties recent theoretical work into a new chapter on Louis XIV. He argues that the monarchical state came into being around 1630, matured between 1690 and 1730 and, in a new final chapter, shows that the period May 1787 to June 1789 was an interregnum, with the end of the Ancien Regime coming not in 1789 but with the dissolution of the Assembly of Notables on 25 May 1787.

New edition of James Collins's acclaimed textbook that challenges longstanding views of the origins of modern states and absolute monarchy.

About the Author
James B. Collins is Professor of History at Georgetown University. His previous publications include From Tribes to Nation: The Making of France, c.500-1799 (2002), The Ancien Regime and the French Revolution (2002) and Classes, Estates and Order in Early Modern Brittany (1994).

Reviews
'The reader who savours the full pleasures of this book will be able to feel that he or she, at the end of it all, has a real grasp of both what happened in the old Bourbon state and how it functioned, changed and came apart. One could scarcely ask more of an introductory work; and one can only regret that more supposedly 'introductory' textbooks do not come up to Professor Collins's exacting standards.' French History



Book Information
ISBN 9780521130257
Author James B. Collins
Format Paperback
Page Count 438
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 690g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 20mm