James Melton's accessible study examines the rise of "the public" in eighteenth-century Europe. Focusing on England, France, and the German-speaking territories, this is the first critical reassessment of what the philosopher JÜrgen Habermas called the "bourgeois public sphere" of the eighteenth century. Topics include the growing importance of public opinion in political life, transformations of the literary public realm, eighteenth-century authorship, theater publics, and new practices of sociability as they developed in salons, coffeehouses, taverns and Masonic lodges.
The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Now we have a well-written and conceptually clear account of the new public that arose in the major states of eighteenth-century Europe. ...Melton's book on the public sphere can be recommended for undergraduate teaching, or just as a good place to get graduate students started in the field." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"an elegant and thoughtful account of the public and the public sphere in eighteenth-century Europe....Melton has succeeded in encapsulating a vast wealth of scholarship into an engaging and important book." H-FRANCE
"The important contribution of this synthesis is its juxtaposition of recent literatures on France, England, and German-speaking Europe....Undergraduates will grasp the significance of a comparative study ranging from formal and extraordinary politics, public opinion, and publishing to authorship, theater, salons, public drinking, and freemasonary." Choice
"As a survey of contributions about the Enlightenment public in three different countries, the book makes its mark." Sharp News
"Melton excels in showing how some of Haberma's pronouncements are not always applicable; for example, the development of extra-authoritarian or extra-parliamentary discourse is not always oppositional, nor always de-christianizing or secular. Melton's access to sources for German-speaking areas of Europe is especially helpful. " Nancy Vogeley, University of San Francisco Eighteenth Century Studies
"an elegant and thoughtful account of the public and the public sphere in eighteenth-century Europe....Melton has succeeded in encapsulating a vast wealth of scholarship into an engaging and important book." H-FRANCE
"The important contribution of this synthesis is its juxtaposition of recent literatures on France, England, and German-speaking Europe....Undergraduates will grasp the significance of a comparative study ranging from formal and extraordinary politics, public opinion, and publishing to authorship, theater, salons, public drinking, and freemasonary." Choice
"As a survey of contributions about the Enlightenment public in three different countries, the book makes its mark." Sharp News
"Melton excels in showing how some of Haberma's pronouncements are not always applicable; for example, the development of extra-authoritarian or extra-parliamentary discourse is not always oppositional, nor always de-christianizing or secular. Melton's access to sources for German-speaking areas of Europe is especially helpful. " Nancy Vogeley, University of San Francisco Eighteenth Century Studies
Book Description
James Melton's lucid and accessible study examines the rise of 'the public' in eighteenth-century Europe. A work of comparative synthesis focusing on England, France, and the German-speaking territories, this is the first book-length, critical reassessment of what the philosopher JÜrgen Habermas called the 'bourgeois public sphere' of the eighteenth century. Topics include the growing importance of public opinion in political life, transformations of the literary public realm, eighteenth-century authorship, theatre publics, and new practices of sociability as they developed in salons, coffeehouses, taverns and Masonic lodges.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written overview of the public sphere in 18th century Europe,
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This review is from: The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe (New Approaches to European History) (Paperback)
This is a very clearly written book that gives an overview of the development of the public sphere in 18th century Britain, France and the Germanies. Beginning with a perceptive overview of Habermas' work on the public sphere, he then goes on to give a political historical overview of Britain and France during the 18th century. The British section was of particular interest to me, as I'd never read a clearer exposition of the topic. Then there are thematic chapters on reading publics, including a discussion of literacy, libraries, and novels. The other chapters deal with authors, theater, salons, coffeehouses and taverns, and freemasonry. The role of women is brought in throughout, as one of his arguments is that women were part of the public sphere, albeit all from the educated classes. At the end of each chapter is a very useful list for further reading. The author also knows French and German and is up on the literature. This is an excellent introduction to the topic. Anyone working on this subject would do well to read the book. It could also be used for undergraduate or graduate classes in the humanities.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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Comédie Française, early periodical, Bittersüsse Genüsse, mémoires judiciares, proprietary authorship, popular reading tastes, enlightenment salons, patent theaters, moral weeklies, popular loyalism, pirate publishers, citizens without sovereignty, perpetual copyright, expanding public sphere, literary public sphere, book piracy, salon culture, subscription publishing, absolutist court, boulevard theaters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Old Regime, Holy Roman Empire, Samuel Johnson, Drury Lane, Robert Darnton, Maria Theresia, Licensing Act, The Craftsman, French Revolution, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, French Enlightenment, Great Britain, Roger Chartier, Eighteenth-century Paris, John Brewer, Seven Years War, Suzanne Necker, Hanoverian England, Parlement of Paris, John Wilkes, Dena Goodman, Early Modern Europe, Journal of Modern History, Frederick William Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Comédie Française, early periodical, Bittersüsse Genüsse, mémoires judiciares, proprietary authorship, popular reading tastes, enlightenment salons, patent theaters, moral weeklies, popular loyalism, pirate publishers, citizens without sovereignty, perpetual copyright, expanding public sphere, literary public sphere, book piracy, salon culture, subscription publishing, absolutist court, boulevard theaters Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Old Regime, Holy Roman Empire, Samuel Johnson, Drury Lane, Robert Darnton, Maria Theresia, Licensing Act, The Craftsman, French Revolution, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, French Enlightenment, Great Britain, Roger Chartier, Eighteenth-century Paris, John Brewer, Seven Years War, Suzanne Necker, Hanoverian England, Parlement of Paris, John Wilkes, Dena Goodman, Early Modern Europe, Journal of Modern History, Frederick William Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
23
books
cite this book:
See all 23 books citing this book
- Exorcism and Enlightenment: Johann Joseph Gassner and the Demons of Eighteenth-Century Germany (The Terry Lectures Series) by H. C. Erik Midelfort on 4 pages
- Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement by Stephen Eric Bronner on page 63, and page 67
- Unnaturally French: Foreign Citizens in the Old Regime and After by Peter Sahlins in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Habermas: Rescuing the Public Sphere (Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought) by Pauline Johnson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Representation and Misrepresentation in Later Stuart Britain: Partisanship and Political Culture by Mark Knights on page 27, and Back Matter
See all 23 books citing this book
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