The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815

The new volume in the acclaimed Penguin History of Europe series takes on the greater eighteenth century in all its revolutionary glory.

Here is an enormously entertaining, rich, and provocative account of a vivid and magnificent era in Europe's history. Tim Blanning has for many years been one of the foremost writers on the eighteenth century. The culmination of many years' work, The Pursuit of Glory is an accessible and enjoyable account of Europe from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the Battle of Waterloo — an era of immense change and cultural, political, and technological ferment. Spanning the years 1648–1815, The Pursuit of Glory takes us from the Enlightenment through the French Revolution and Napoleonic era. As interested in the art and music of the period as in the great dynastic and revolutionary wars, as concerned with the lives of ordinary people as with the great rulers on horseback, The Pursuit of Glory turns a compelling spotlight on one of history’s most unique and fascinating eras.

"This new volume in the Penguin History of Europe series is a wonderful achievement, particularly so considering the mammoth amount of specialist material that required synthesizing into digestible portions for general consumption. Blanning, professor of modern history at the University of Cambridge, has performed the miracle of balancing and blending traditional political and diplomatic accounts with the newer fields of social, economic and intellectual history. A prime example of this is the author's treatment of the impact of the new 'public sphere.' As people discoursed through coffeehouses, Masonic organizations or periodicals, 'a new source of authority emerged to challenge the opinion-makers of the old regime: public opinion.' Countries where this public sphere was left free, as in Britain or the Dutch Republic, tended to be more politically stable than, say, France, where suppression ended in bloody revolution. Blanning narrates the story of Europe from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the end of the Napoleonic wars, when secularization and the primacy of state sovereignty were recognized as the key attributes of the coming era. What the Europeans would eventually get was the secular, martial religion of nationalism. But this is the subject for a subsequent volume — which will be hard-pressed to match this splendid one. (June 4)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"The Pursuit of Glory, at 708 pages, is not a short read, but it is so well written that for those who love history, it is a page turner....The Pursuit of Glory is history writing at its glorious best." The New York Times

"[S]ucceeds in conveying both social topics and the topics of traditional history." Library Journal

The new volume in the acclaimed Penguin History of Europe series takes on the greater 18th century in all its revolutionary glory.

Tim Blanning is Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge. His books include The Culture of Power and the Power of Culture, The French Revolutionary Wars 1787-1802, The Rise and Fall of the French Revolution and The Pursuit of Glory.

David Cannadine is Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London. He is the author of many acclaimed books including The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, Class in Britain, and History in Our Time. He lives in London.