The State in Early Modern France
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The State in Early Modern France by James B Collins
This major new textbook addresses fundamental questions about the nature of the state in early modern Europe through an analysis of the most important continental state, France. Professor Collins abandons the traditional formulation of the absolute monarchy, and presents in its place a state that evolved to meet the needs of the French elites. Collins offers a detailed analysis of French society, to provide the broader context for the development of the French state. The model that emerges from his synthesis is one that relied more on persuasion and congruity of influence than on arbitrary authority, and Collins argues that fundamental changes in French society made the monarchical, ministerial state a dangerous anachronism by the 1750s, leading to political impasse by the second half of the eighteenth century. Collins offers a fundamental reinterpretation of the state relevant to historians and students of political thought.
'The reader who savours the full pleasures of this book will be able to feel that he or she, at the end of it all, has a real grasp of both what happened in the old Bourbon state and how it functioned, changed and came apartOne could scarcely ask more of an introductory work; and one can only regret that more supposedly 'introductory' textbooks do not come up to Professor Collins's exacting standards.' French History
Collins, James B.: - James B. Collins is Professor of History at Georgetown University. His previous publications include From Tribes to Nation: The Making of France, c.500-1799 (2002), The Ancien Rü¾Ž–”¼gime and the French Revolution (2002) and Classes, Estates and Order in Early Modern Brittany (1994).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521387248 |
| ISBN 10 | 0521387248 |
| Title | The State in Early Modern France |
| Author | James B Collins |
| Series | New Approaches To European History |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 1995-09-28 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |