In a wide-ranging interpretation of French thought in the years 1670-1789, Daniel Gordon takes us through the literature of manners and moral philosophy, theology and political theory, universal history and economics to show how French thinkers sustained a sense of liberty and dignity within an authoritarian regime. A penetrating critique of those
Reviews
"Gordon has written a sophisticated and original interpretation of how the idea of sociability evolved in French culture from the reign of Louis XIV to the French Revolution... a work of impressive erudition."--Choice
