In this lively and stimulating study, Roger Magraw examines how the 19th-century French bourgeoisie struggled and eventually succeeded in consolidating the gains it made in 1789. The book describes the attempts of the bourgeoisie to remold France in its own image and its strategy for overcoming the resistance from the old aristocratic and clerical elites and the popular classes. Incorporating the most recent research on religion and anticlericalism, the development of the economy, the role of women in society, and the educational system, this work is the first to draw extensively on the new social history in its interpretation of events in 19th-century France.

ECONOMIST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 'A scintillating, encyclopaedic history, rich in detail from the arcane to the familiar... a veritable tour de force' Richard Overy, New Statesman 'Transnational history at its finest ... .. social, political and cultural themes swirl together in one great canvas of immense detail and beauty' Gerard DeGroot, The Times 'Dazzlingly erudite and entertaining' Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times A masterpiece which brings to life an extraordinarly turbulent and dramatic era of revolutionary change. The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich, surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic transformation. The book aims to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era, as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural, political and technological changes. It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned, where huge cities sprang up in a generation, new European countries were created and where, for the first time, humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles. In the period bounded by the Battle of Waterloo and the outbreak of World War I, Europe dominated the rest of the world as never before or since: this book breaks new ground by showing how the continent shaped, and was shaped by, its interactions with other parts of the globe. Richard Evans explores fully the revolutions, empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century, but the book is about so much more, whether it is illness, serfdom, religion or philosophy. The Pursuit of Power is a work by a historian at the height of his powers: essential for anyone trying to understand Europe, then or now.

This new edition of the seminal and best selling history of Europe's century of global ascendancy includes a new introduction and bibliography. The carefully drawn discussions are pulled together and reinforced by a new afterword. Presented in a new textbook format and thoroughly revised throughout, the survey provides students with an invaluable guide to a notoriously complex period. Lucidly written and constructed as a series of essays, the text covers the political and economic balance of power, the mechanics of government, economy and society, states, nations, europe and the world, Armed Forces and war and romanticism, evolution and consciousness. Reviews of the previous editions`Anderson's book is one of the few that explains economic, social, military, intellectual and colonial developments in a clear, precise and engaging manner.'Teaching History `Packed with shrewdness, wisdom and well-directed erudition...invaluble to university students and teachers.' British Book News

Part of the Modern History for Modern Languages Series France since 1815 provides an accessible overview of the major socio-political changes in France during this period. Designed for area studies students studying French, it presents the historical context necessary for language students to understand the complexities of contemporary French society. Adopting a chronological approach, it surveys nearly two hundred years of French history, with events covered including The French Revolution, The Bourbon Restoration, The Third Republic, Occupied France, The Fourth Republic, The Gaullist Revolution and France after 2003. This revised edition includes new material that focuses on Chirac's second mandate (Iraq war, religion, suburbs and the inability/impossibility of carrying on with reform), an assessment of the controversial Sarkozy presidency, and a final chapter covering the last ten years, culminating in the results of the French presidential elections in 2012. Features include: clear timelines of main events and suggested topics for discussion glossary inserts throughout of key terms and concepts the use of primary documents to re-create and understand the past free access to a website (http://www.port.ac.uk/special/france1815to2003/) containing a wealth of complementary material Drawing on the best scholarship, particular emphasis has been given to the role of political memory, the contribution of women and the impact of colonialism and post-colonialism. The relationship between France and her European partners is analysed in greater depth and there are new sections explicitly situating France and the French within a wider transnational/global perspective.

Napoleon Bonaparte dominated the public life of Europe like no other individual before him. Not surprisingly, the story of the man himself has usually swamped he stories of his subjects. This book looks at the history of the Napoleonic Empire from an entirely new perspective – that of the ruled rather than the ruler. Michael Broers concentrates on the experience of the people of Europe – particularly the vast majority of Napoleon's subjects who were neither French nor willing participants in the great events of the period – during the dynamic but short-lived career of Napoleon, when half of the European content fell under his rule.

The third edition of Europe 1783-1914 provides a comprehensive overview of Europe from the outbreak of the French Revolution to the origins of the First World War. William Simpson and Martin Jones combine accounts of the most important countries, notably France, Germany and Russia, with the wider political, economic, social and cultural developments affecting Europe as a whole. These include: A survey of Europe c.1780: the social and economic background, forms of government, and the Enlightenment The impact of the French Revolution and Napoleon on Europe The spread of nationalism: the 1848 Revolutions and the unification of Italy and Germany Changes in the world of ideas: religious belief, romanticism, and cultural achievements in art, literature and music The age of imperialism: the expansion of Europe, Marxism and left-wing movements, international relations, 1870-1914 The reciprocal relationship between Europe and the United States Europe in 1914: shifts in the intellectual climate through the works of Darwin and Freud, scientific discoveries and the impact of new technologies, and changes in society and the position of women. Each chapter features a list of key dates, concise background information and suggestions for further reading, as well as a concluding ‘Topics for Debate’ section which contains relevant contemporary sources and outlines the contrasting views of recent historians on the key issues. The suggestions for further reading have been updated in every chapter by the addition of relevant and significant new books, published up to and including 2014. Extensively illustrated throughout with maps, contemporary cartoons and portraits, Europe 1783–1914 is a clear, detailed and highly accessible analysis of this turbulent and formative period of European history.

Would it have been possible to build a unified and democratic Germany half a century before the fall of the Berlin Wall? This book reassesses this question by exploring Germany's division after the Second World War from the point of view of the SED, the communist-led and Soviet-sponsored ruling party of East Germany.Drawing on unpublished documents from the SED archives, Dr Spilker rejects claims that the East German comrades and their Soviet masters had abandoned their struggle for socialism and were willing to accept a democratic Germany in exchange for a pledge to neutrality. He argues that the communists' sudden switch to a multi-party approach at the end of the war was a tactical move inspired not by a desire for compromise but by the mistaken belief that they could win political hegemony - and thechance to introduce socialism throughout Germany - through the ballot box.Communist optimism, as this book shows, rested on specific assumptions about the situation after the war, all of which revolved around the prospect of political instability and social unrest in West Germany. The comrades in East Berlin did not just say that their regime would ultimately prevail, they genuinely believed it. Nor should their hopes be dismissed as a mere fantasy. In the aftermath of the war, the economic gap between the two Germanies was still relatively narrow and West Germany'sfuture success as a magnet for the people in East Germany was by no means guaranteed.

This book, first published in 1983, attempts to examine the rural change in France between 1815 and 1914 with a sustained and explicit spatial approach. This volume represents a position in which space and time are meshed in an analysis of the forces underlying land-use and other changes that have contributed much to the making of the French landscape. In this book the shift from the rural economy towards the urban markets in this period is examined thoroughly, using the vast statistical record of cadastral surveys and agricultural enquiries as well as contemporary reports and agricultural journals. The detailed mapping of historical data is a major feature of the treatment. As a scholarly account of a major topic in historical geography, The Land of France 1815-1914 should appear to all students and researchers with interests in historical and rural geography and economic history and especially those specialising in European studies.