{"product_id":"the-forbidden-best-sellers-of-pre-revolutionary-france-9780393314427","title":"The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France","description":"His latest book vibrates with the strange political and literary energies of ancien régime France. \u003cem\u003eThe Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France\u003c\/em\u003e traces the merging of philosophical, sexual, and anti-monarchical interests into the pulp fiction of the 1780s, banned books that make fascinating reading more than two centuries later.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e French literature of the eighteenth century means to us today Rousseau and Voltaire and the \"classic\" texts that, we imagine, gave rise to the Revolution. Yet very few of the standard works of the Enlightenment were as widely read as books whose names we have never heard, books that were the currency of a huge literary underground during the reign of Louis XVI. Included in this volume are Darnton's translations of excerpts from three of these works.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e After twenty-five years of research, Darnton has summarized his findings in one brilliant work that examines the reciprocal relationship between private literature and the public world, the (illegal) spread of Enlightenment thought, and the interesting possibility that the writings of some not-so-famous authors contributed to the fall of the French aristocracy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDarnton, Robert:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Darnton\u003c\/strong\u003e is the Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor Emeritus and University Librarian Emeritus at Harvard University. His honors include a MacArthur Prize, the National Humanities Medal, the \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e Book Prize, and election to the French Legion of Honor. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eCensors at Work\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Great Cat Massacre\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Forbidden Bestsellers of Pre-Revolutionary France\u003c\/em\u003e, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50526987747602,"sku":"9780393314427","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_31abefe8-e0f3-48fc-82db-afda4c7e51c9.jpg?v=1731289234","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-forbidden-best-sellers-of-pre-revolutionary-france-9780393314427","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}