Description
Book SynopsisThe ending of absolute monarchy and the start of political combat between nobles and commoners make 17871788 the first stage of the French Revolution. In a detailed look at this critical transition, Gruder explores how the French people became engaged in an opposition movement that culminated in demands for the public's role in government.
Trade ReviewThis excellent work retraces the pre-revolutionary political events of 1787-1788. Particularly interesting is Gruder's convincing evidence--in the form of newspapers, pamphlets, and
nouvelles à la main--showing that the debates of the notables, and after them the Paris
Parlementaires, were widely discussed by an involved and informed French reading public. Combining a lively awareness of recent scholarship on the formation of public opinion and the nature of the reading public with a well-written, accessible text,
The Notables and the Nation offers much to be admired. -- Patrice Higonnet, author of
Paris: Capital of the WorldIn a detailed examination of this critical transition, Gruder examines how the French people became engaged in a movement of opposition that culminated in demands for the public's role in government. * Times Higher Education Supplement *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Map Introduction Part I: The Assembly of Notables: February-May 1787, November-December 1788 1. Paths to Political Consciousness: The Notables in the First Assembly, February-May 1787 2. Privilege, Property, and Participation: A Mutation in Elite Political Culture 3. The Society of Orders at Its Demise: The Vision of the Elite at the End of the Ancien Regime Part II: The Media and the Public: Networks of Information, Opinion, Instruction 4. Political News as Coded Messages: The Parisian and Provincial Press, 1787-1788 5. The French Foreign-Language Press: Gazettes 6. The French Foreign-Language Press: Journals of Opinion 7. Manuscript Newsletters--Nouvelles a la Main 8. Pamphlets: A Network of Political Education and Polemics 9. Readers and Reading Sites: The Public and the Network of the Printed and Written Media 10. The Verbal, the Visual and the Festive Part III: At the "Grass Roots" 11. Popular Pamphlets: Political Messages to the Public 12. Can We Hear the Voices of Peasants? 13. The "Grass Roots": Community Assemblies Deliberating Conclusion Appendix I: Chronology Appendix II: Contemporary Accounts of Fetes Bibliographical Abbreviations Notes
