by
Bertucci, Paola, author.
Call Number
509.4409033 23
Publication Date
2017
Summary
What would the Enlightenment look like from the perspective of artistes, the learned artisans with esprit, who presented themselves in contrast to philosophers, savants, and routine-bound craftsmen? Making a radical change of historical protagonists, the author places the mechanical arts and the world of making at the heart of the Enlightenment. At a time of great colonial, commercial, and imperial concerns, artistes planned encyclopedic projects and sought an official role in the administration of the French state. The Société des Arts, which they envisioned as a state institution that would foster France's colonial and economic expansion, was the msot ambitious expression of their collective aspirations. This work provides the first in-depth study of the Société, and demonstrates its legacy in scientific programs, academies, and the making of Diderot and D'Alembert's Encyclopédie. Through insightful analysis of textual, visual, and material sources, the author provides a ground-breaking perspective on the politics of writing on the mechanical arts and the development of key Enlightenment concepts such as improvement, utility, and progress.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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52745.2695
by
McPhee, Peter, 1948- author.
Call Number
944.04 23
Publication Date
2016
Summary
"The French Revolution has fascinated, perplexed and inspired for more than two centuries. It was a seismic event that radically transformed France and sent shock waves across the world. In this provocative new history, Peter McPhee draws on a lifetime's study of eighteenth-century France and Europe to create an entirely fresh account of the world's first great modern revolution: its origins, drama, complexity and significance. Was the Revolution a major turning point in French--even world--history, or was it instead a protracted period of violent upheaval and warfare that wrecked millions of lives? McPhee evaluates the Revolution within a genuinely global context: Europe, the Atlantic region, and even farther. He acknowledges the key revolutionary events that unfolded in Paris, yet also uncovers the varying experiences of French citizens outside the gates of the city: the provincial men and women whose daily lives were altered (or not) by developments in the capital. Enhanced with evocative stories of those who struggled to cope in unpredictable times, McPhee's deeply researched book investigates the changing personal, social and cultural world of the eighteenth century. His startling conclusions redefine and illuminate both the experience and the legacy of France's transformative age of revolution."--Jacket
Format:
Electronic Resources
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1.9542
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by
Bashor, Will, author.
Call Number
944.035092
Publication Date
2016
Summary
Marie Antoinette's Darkest Days recreates in compelling detail the short but intensely agonizing period of the ex-queen's incarceration in the Conciergerie, Her seventy-six days in this terrifying prison can only be described as the darkest and most horrific of the fallen queen's life, vividly recaptured in this richly researched history.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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1.5029
by
Sonnino, Paul, author.
Call Number
944.033092 23
Publication Date
2016
Summary
This book pursues an enduring puzzle that has stumped historians for centuries and seduced novelists and filmmakers down to this day. Who was the man who wore an iron mask and was kept in prison for years during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV? Paul Sonnino brilliantly traces his decade-long quest to solve the mystery.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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1.2474
by
Fried, Johannes, author.
Call Number
944.0142092
Publication Date
2016
Summary
"When Charlemagne died in 814 CE, he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Distinguished historian and author of The Middle Ages Johannes Fried presents a new biographical study of the legendary Frankish king and emperor, illuminating the life and reign of a ruler who shaped Europe's destiny in ways few figures, before or since, have equaled. Living in an age of faith, Charlemagne was above all a Christian king, Fried says. He made his court in Aix la Chapelle the center of a religious and intellectual renaissance, enlisting the Anglo Saxon scholar Alcuin of York to be his personal tutor, and insisting that monks be literate and versed in rhetoric and logic. He erected a magnificent cathedral in his capital, decorating it lavishly while also dutifully attending Mass every morning and evening. And to an extent greater than any ruler before him, Charlemagne enhanced the papacy's influence, becoming the first king to enact the legal principle that the pope was beyond the reach of temporal justice a decision with fateful consequences for European politics for centuries afterward. Though devout, Charlemagne was not saintly. He was a warrior king, intimately familiar with violence and bloodshed. And he enjoyed worldly pleasures, including physical love. Though there are aspects of his personality we can never know with certainty, Fried paints a compelling portrait of a ruler, a time, and a kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called 'the father of Europe'"--Provided by publisher.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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0.3809
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