Forgotten Crisis: The Fin-de-Siecle Crisis of Democracy in France

Description

This revisionist book shows how France's haute bourgeoisie understood and responded to the threat of revolution it believed it faced in the 1890s. The essence of the threat was that under the regime of the Third Republic the non-wealthy might come to control government through the power of the vote and employ a graduated income tax to destroy the wealthy. This book examines, in detail, the battle over the income tax which was the main political issue in France during this time but which is virtually absent from histories of the period. It also explains how the Dreyfus Affair has mistakenly been considered to have been the central event of the period.

Robert Elliot Kaplan

"This book is stimulating reading and has the great virtue of encouraging us to rethink a crucial period in French history" Labour History Review "Dr Kaplan's thesis is well argued, with ample recourse to primary sources, and his work is a valuable contribution to the history of the period... a confident and well produced book." New Zealand Journal of French "a valuable and stimulating collection which offers many pointers for future research in the area of French social policy." English Historical Review