The Books that Made the European Enlightenment: A History in 12 Case Studies

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In contrast to traditional Enlightenment studies that focus solely on authors and ideas, Gary Kates' employs a literary lens to offer a wholly original history of the period in Europe from 1699 to 1780. Each chapter is a biography of a book which tells the story of the text from its inception through to the revolutionary era, with wider aspects of the Enlightenment era being revealed through the narrative of the book's publication and reception. Here, Kates joins new approaches to book history with more traditional intellectual history by treating authors, publishers, and readers in a balanced fashion throughout. Using a unique database of 18th-century editions representing 5,000 titles, the book looks at the multifaceted significance of bestsellers from the time. It analyses key works by Voltaire, Adam Smith, Madame de Graffigny, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and David Hume and champions the importance of a crucial innovation of the age: the rise of the erudite blockbuster, which for the first time in European history, helped to popularize political theory among a large portion of the middling classes. Kates also highlights how, when, and why some of these books were read in the European colonies, as well as incorporating the responses of both ordinary men and women as part of the reception histories that are so integral to the volume.

Reviews

Revealing the social, cultural and political impact of 12 bestselling titles of the 18th century, this imaginative and engaging study offers a fresh take on the Enlightenment which will be much admired. -- Colin Jones, Emeritus Professor of Cultural History, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Based on impressive new research, Kates places books, the printing industry, and the public at the center of a vibrant interpretation of this important cultural movement. We see a dynamic Enlightenment emerge over the course of the century in which even books we thought we knew look different through the eyes of those who read and helped shape them into texts which resonate today. -- Dena Goodman, Professor Emerita of History and Womens and Gender Studies, University of Michigan, USA

Author Bio

Gary Kates is H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair in the Social Sciences and Professor of History at Pomona College, USA. He is the author of Rousseau, Burke, and Revolution in France, 1791 2nd Edition (2015; with Jennifer Popiel and Mark C. Carnes) and Monsieur d'Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade (1995), which has been translated into three different languages. He is also the editor of The French Revolution: Recent Debates and New Controversies (1988).