Enlightenment and Revolution

Over the last fifty years few historians have made such an outstanding contribution to the study of eighteenth-century Europe as Norman Hampson. He has written many books and numerous articles dealing with the Enlightenment and Revolutionary France, while teaching at the Universities of Manchester, Newcastle and York. Through his writing and teaching, not to mention his role in the Society for the Study of French History for which he was the founding President, he has exerted a profound influence over a generation of scholars. It is to celebrate these lasting achievements that Enlightenment and Revolution has been assembled. Taking a broad cultural and intellectual approach, this collection of essays contains contributions by fellow scholars of eighteenth-century Europe, who write on topics relating to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and who have known him as colleague, supervisor or friend. Covering such seemingly diverse subjects as science and army reform, French interest in China, Atlantic slavery and the links between Voltaire and Hume, and prefaced by an appraisal of the man as well as the historian, these essays are linked by themes and approaches that bear the hallmark of Norman Hampson's influence. However, Enlightenment and Revolution is not simply an appreciation of his work; the essays explore new themes in the history of the period and re-examine some of the more familiar aspects of Enlightenment and Revolution. As such, they provide a fitting tribute to the spirit and writings of Norman Hampson.