Private Lives and Public Affairs: The Causes Célèbres of Prerevolutionary France

Studies on the History of Society and Culture

by Sarah C. Maza

From 1770 to 1789 a succession of highly publicized cases riveted the attention of the French public. Maza argues that the reporting of these private scandals had a decisive effect on the way in which the French public came to understand public issues in the years before the Revolution.

Genres: History, France, French Revolution, Grad School, Modern

354 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Cat Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maza’s book chronicles some of the most public court cases in Pre-Revolutionary France. The cases themselves are an interesting insight to legal actions between people, most specifically between the Second and Third Estates. Maza’s focus, however, is on how the cases written as memoires judiciaires, or trial briefs, helped to shape the change in public opinion in pre-Revolutionary France. An excellent read for those who study the causes of the French Revolution

[Sal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes this is more of an academic read, but that suits me just fine. The amount of research and detail given to each case and their ripple effects on eighteenth-century France is amazing. Very enjoyable