Synopses & Reviews
In this fascinating new account of Old Regime Europe, T.C.W. Blanning explores the cultural revolution which transformed eighteenth-century Europe. During this period the court culture exemplified by Louis XIV's Versailles was pushed from the center to the margins by the emergence of a new kind of space - the public sphere. The author shows how many of the world's most important cultural institutions developed in this space: the periodical, the newspaper, the novel, the lending library, the coffee house, the voluntary association, the journalist, and the critic.
Review
"Witty, conversational in tone, the book is also encyclopedic, ranging from Luther to Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks, while exploring fascinating tangents on dietary nationalism and British xenophobia....This innovative work is highly recommended for educated readers and scholars alike."--CHOICE
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Culture of Power and the Power of Culture
Overture
Representational Culture and the Public Sphere
The Nation
Part One: Representational Culture
1. Louis XIV and Versailles
2. The Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy
3. The Status of the Artist
Part Two: The Rise of the Public Sphere
4. Communications
5. Markets
Part Three: Revolution
6. The Rise of the Nation
7. The British Way
8. The Cultural Origins of the French Revolution
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index