An Introduction to Eighteenth Century France

This book discusses the changes brought about in the literature and life of 18th century France by the social and political events of the day. The first chapters deal with status of and conflicts between peasants, bourgeois and clergy, then moving on to political events from the death of Louis XIV to the meeting of the Estates General in 1789. The rest of the book is concerned with the changing status of men of letters and the subsequent influence of this change on the literature of the period. A summary of the events of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period and their influence on present day French life and thought completes the book. There are over 40 plates as well as maps and diagrams...