Customer Reviews

France in the Enlightenment (Harvard Historical Studies)

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This relatively lengthy book is actually not a single book at all but a collection of small books on just about every topic one can write about in regards to the Enlightenment. There are chapters on perception of space and time, on the relationship of the king to his subjects, and on such seeming minutiae as the rise in the popularity of coffee and chocolate. And Daniel Roche masterfully weaves all of these various subjects together into a single, cohesive whole, explaining, for instance, how new trends in furniture during the Enlightenment were linked to new ideas of space, freedom, and luxury.

Before approaching this book, I knew a fair amount about the great thinkers of the Enlightenment and their ideas. I had read Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. But, in retrospect, I hardly understood the Enlightenment as a whole and had no conception whatsoever of the way the various pieces fit together. Roche did that and more, filling in the numerous blank spaces in my understanding of the Enlightenment as a whole and of particular aspects and personalities of the Enlightenment and, perhaps most importantly, bringing them all together in a cohesive way.

Roche's assessments are always fair and well-reasoned. Where disagreement exists on any matter, he never fails to point out the disagreement, to summarize the best arguments for both sides of the divide, and to direct us to the best proponents of each position.

This is a fascinating book from front to back and one that I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in history and/or who is seeking to understand the Enlightenment and the effect that it continues to have on us today.

A big book, nearly 700 page long but a very detailed picture of the thoughts and life styles of the France which ushered in the Age of Enlightenment, leading up to the Revolution. Some information was too detailed for me, such as references to percentages of populations which did this or that. Some of the book contained only Roche's opinions based upon the facts he dug up. Overall, it was highly informative but not surprising. I suppose that I was not surprised with the finding that the rural areas of France were slower to change than the cities, that Paris set the intellectual pace for the rest of the nation, that blind faith in religion suffocated thought, that nobility made every effort to maintain its position over the lower classes.

Roche, however, did give a good picture of how the stage was set for the Enlightenment, going into almost every facet of day-to-day living in France in the late 18th Century. I got a good picture, though a brief one, of the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI and for the first time in my education, I am able to get these reigning monarchs straight.

Roche has a quirky, teacher style of writing, though clearly expressed. Almost on every page, he will tell you that such-and-such happened for two, three, or four reasons. The numbering method of exposition is an insight into the way his mind is organized. It is also evidence that he did not merely set down his factual findings, but that he thought about what he found and tried to relate them to what was the historical result.

All in all, a very worthwhile project, reading this massive book.