Volume 26, Number 9 · May 31, 1979
The Rise of the Writer
By Robert Darnton
Writer and Public in France: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day
by John Lough
Oxford University Press, 435 pp., $36.00
Le Siècle des lumières en province: Académies et académiciens provinciaux, 1680-1789
by Daniel Roche
Mouton (Paris and The Hague), 2 volumes, 914 pp., $74.50
If the man of letters was not born in Paris, he seems to speak French throughout most modern history; and his battle cries, from écrasez l'infâme to épatez le bourgeois, have echoed from the left bank to the right bank before circling the world. Thanks to the work of John Lough and Daniel Roche, it now is possible to trace the rise of the writer in France and to situate him within an institution that also seems peculiarly French, although it exists everywhere and nowhere—the Republic of Letters.
Review, 4266 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |