
Blackmail, Scandal, and Revolution
London's French Libellistes, 1758-1792
Simon Burrows(Author)
Manchester University Press
Published on 30. October 2006
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-7190-6526-2 (ISBN)
Description
This important study, new in paperback, examines the activities, adventures, publications, and influence of the most venomous critics of the late Bourbon monarchy. These were the French exile libellistes who flocked to London to publish scandalous or sexually salacious pamphlets in the hope of extorting lavish suppression fees. These 'smut-mongering' pamphleteers have become prominent figures in the recent historiography of the French revolution, with many historians contending that their 'desacralizing' and frequently pornographic publications sapped the foundations of the monarchy.
Simon Burrows here offers a 'root and branch' refutation of this 'pornographic interpretation' and re-contextualizes 'Grub Street' pamphleteers within the political life of the ancien regime. In the course of his dissection of the libellistes' life histories, social networks, business activities, literary output, political affiliations and blackmail negotiations, he demonstrates that their attacks on living monarchs and their consorts (most notably Marie-Antoinette) were in fact almost unobtainable prior to 1789. He concludes that the libellistes' primary importance lies in their contribution to factional politics and in the public disquiet aroused by desperate and heavy-handed attempts to kidnap or silence them.
This revealing book is essential reading for students of eighteenth-century political culture and the French revolution. -- .
Simon Burrows here offers a 'root and branch' refutation of this 'pornographic interpretation' and re-contextualizes 'Grub Street' pamphleteers within the political life of the ancien regime. In the course of his dissection of the libellistes' life histories, social networks, business activities, literary output, political affiliations and blackmail negotiations, he demonstrates that their attacks on living monarchs and their consorts (most notably Marie-Antoinette) were in fact almost unobtainable prior to 1789. He concludes that the libellistes' primary importance lies in their contribution to factional politics and in the public disquiet aroused by desperate and heavy-handed attempts to kidnap or silence them.
This revealing book is essential reading for students of eighteenth-century political culture and the French revolution. -- .
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Illustrations, black & white|Tables, black & white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-7190-6526-2 (9780719065262)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Simon Burrows is Professor of Modern European History at Leeds University -- .
Content
List of illustrations
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Notes on conventions, translations and terminology
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter 1: London's French libellistes
Chapter 2: Peddling libelles
Chapter 3: The policing and politics of libelles, 1758-1778
Chapter 4: The policing and politics of libelles, 1778-1792
Chapter 5: The scandalous history of Marie-Antoinette
Chapter 6: The corpus of blackmail libelles, 1758-1789
Chapter 7: Discourses of despotism and freedom
Conclusion
Appendix: The secret depot in the Bastille
Sources -- .
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Notes on conventions, translations and terminology
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter 1: London's French libellistes
Chapter 2: Peddling libelles
Chapter 3: The policing and politics of libelles, 1758-1778
Chapter 4: The policing and politics of libelles, 1778-1792
Chapter 5: The scandalous history of Marie-Antoinette
Chapter 6: The corpus of blackmail libelles, 1758-1789
Chapter 7: Discourses of despotism and freedom
Conclusion
Appendix: The secret depot in the Bastille
Sources -- .