The Cult of the Nation in France: Inventing Nationalism, 1680–1800

by David A. Bell

Using eighteenth-century France as a case study, David Bell offers an important new argument about the origins of nationalism. Before the eighteenth century, the very idea of nation-building―a central component of nationalism―did not exist. During this period, leading French intellectual and political figures came to see perfect national unity as a critical priority, and so sought ways to endow all French people with the same language, laws, customs, and values. The period thus gave rise to the first large-scale nationalist program in history.

Genres: History, France, Nonfiction, French Revolution, European History, Politics, Sociology

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David A. Bell is the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor in the Era of North Atlantic Revolutions at Princeton University and the author of several previous books, among them The First Total War and Shadows of Revolution.

Reviews

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cult of The Nation in France: Inventing Nationalism, 1680 - 1800 gives great insight into the building of nationalism in France. Bell says his book's purpose is on having national identity being a person's whole being, not on the history of the national identity of France. David Bell seems to reflect Liah Greenfield's belief in the French building their nationalism around the collective. I appreciated all the topics Bell covered here from subtle propaganda, the deconstruction of kingship's connection to God, France's shifting political atmosphere and the cult of great men and its substitution for religion. There's are just a few ideas that stuck out to me within the book. I did not like Bell's writing, I found it hard to track at times and boring at other times.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book on French nationalism, Professor David Bell touches on many subjects such as history, religion, language, gender, education, and much more to show how each of these factors contributed to the formation of France throughout the ancien régime and the French Revolution. The book is broad in scope and beautiful in its execution. The author’s prose flows from one argument to the next with insightful observations and examples that come directly from the letters, speeches, and pamphlets of the 18th century. Bell weaves together his analysis through a thematic study of nationalism’s roots rather than a more traditional chronology of seminal events. This approach is effective due to the very nature of nationalism; as it grows, it often harkens back to a mythical past. Therefore, a thematic approach allows the historian to address specific themes rather than a constant battle between the past and present. The French people created their identity through their relationships with the past. Though the world was increasingly becoming secularized, the remnants of religion loomed large. In short, Bell’s overarching argument in this book is that the nation is a political construction that was created in the eighteenth century. He seeks to prove this by providing an overview of the rhetoric that was evoked at the time primarily through classical education and history.

[Armistead B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid history of the cultural and political roots of french nationalism. A classic.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to get a copy of this book and read it for my Modern France Class taught by Thomas Kaiser (who is mention in this book)who teaches at University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I like this book but I wish it could of been less boring, might have to use this book for an test essay for that class.

I think he should of let out most of the conclusion about the present day France.

[Angela Randall]

MIT use this for their French History 1660-1815 readings:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/History/21H...