The French Press in the Age of Enlightenment

The radical ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau critically influenced the French Revolution, but how did an entire generation learn about such ideas prior to the Revolution? Censer marshals a vast literature in order to provide a coherent and original interpretation of the role of the French press in the dissemination of social and political ideas in the years leading up to the Revolution. He also explores the relationship between journalists and government officials, and unearths a range of sophisticated censorship techniques employed by the government to keep "Bad News" off the front pages.

Jack Censer's achievement in The French Press in the Age of Enlightenment is to marshal a vast literature in order to provide a coherent and original interpretation of the role of the French press in the dissemination of social and political ideas in the pre-revolution years. With 1,000 titles and thousands of journalists, the periodical constituted an important phenomenon in French intellectual life; yet scholars in the absence of a synthetic treatment have failed to integrate it into their accounts. This study allows construction of a far richer picture of the politics and intellectual life of the period, and counters the standard view of the Old Regime political system as already fatally undermined well before the revolution.

The first half of the book considers the message in the political press, literary and philosophical journals, and local advertisers, while the remainder analyzes readers and reading, the role of government, and the personnel of the press. These subjects contribute to a number of different historical debates, including current discussions of the identity and the role of readers. This book gives a strikingly new historical analysis of the period immediately before 1789.

First Published in 2004. The ideas of the Enlightenment and belligerent royal officials critically influenced the French Revolution, but how did an entire generation learn about such ideas prior to the Revolution? Jack R. Censer's achievement in this volume is to marshal a vast literature in order to provide a coherent and original interpretation of the role of the French Press in the dissemination of social and political ideas in the years leading up to the Revolution. Censer also explores the relationship between journalists and government officials and unearths a range of sophisticated censorship techniques employed by the government to keep Bad News off the front pages. In a field dominated by specialized studies but few generalizations, The French Press in the Age of Enlightenment provides a bold synthesis regarding the periodical press from mid-century to the Revolution. Jack Censer's achievement in this volume is to marshal a vast literature in order to provide a coherent and original interpretation of the role of the French press in the dissemimation of social and political ideas in the pre-Revolution years This volume marshals a vast literature in order to provide a coherent interpretation of the role of the French press in the dissemination of social and political ideas during the pre-Revolution years.