L'invenzione della libertà di stampa: Censura e scrittori nel Settecento

by Edoardo Tortarolo

Tracking the relationship between the theory of press control and the realities of practicing daily press censorship prior to publication, this volume on the suppression of dissent in early modern Europe tackles a topic with many elusive and under-researched characteristics. Pre-publication censorship was common in absolutist regimes in Catholic and Protestant countries alike, but how effective it was in practice remains open to debate. The Netherlands and England, where critical content segued into outright lampoonery, were unusual for hard-wired press freedoms that arose, respectively, from a highly competitive publishing industry and highly decentralized political institutions. These nations remained extraordinary exceptions to a rule that, for example in France, did not end until the revolution of 1789.   Here, the author’s European perspective provides a survey of the varying censorship regulations in European nations, as well as the shifting meanings of ‘freedom of the press’. The analysis opens up fascinating insights, afforded by careful reading of primary archival sources, into the reactions of censors confronted with manuscripts by authors seeking permission to publish. Tortarolo sets the opinions on censorship of well-known writers, including Voltaire and Montesquieu, alongside the commentary of anonymous censors, allowing us to revisit some common views of eighteenth-century history. How far did these writers, their reasoning stiffened by Enlightenment values, promote dissident views of absolutist monarchies in Europe, and what insights did governments gain from censors’ reports into the social tensions brewing under their rule? These questions will excite dedicated researchers, graduate students, and discerning lay readers alike.

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Edoardo Tortarolo was born in Italy. Educated at the University of Turin, he has taught at several Italian universities, at the University of Leipzig (1997-8), and at Northwestern University (2010). In 2006 he was a member of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton. He is the author of several books on the political culture of the European Enlightenment.

Reviews

[Giuls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Around the year in 52 books - 29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre)

2.5/5
Nonostante l'argomento trattato sia estremamente interessante, non posso dargli la sufficienza. Questo libro mi ha annoiato tante, troppe volte, senza considerare che stava per portarmi nella peggiore reading slump che abbia mai avuto! Per questo ci ho messo quasi due mesi a leggerlo... un libro di 160 pagine se escludiamo la bibliografia... assurdo eh?
Se volete approfondire l'argomento, cosa che vi consiglio di fare perchè ripeto in se come cosa è molto interessante, non vi consiglio questo libro.
Piccola nota alla casa editrice: non potevate stamparlo con un carattere leggermente più grosso e con lettere meno fini? Stavo per cavarmi gli occhi .-.

[Ilaria Alleva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un saggio dettagliato su cosa ha significato la libertà di stampa o la sua preclusione per l'Inghilterra e la Francia nel 600 e 700, attraverso le varie posizioni dei grandi pensatori del tempo. Peccato che sia una lettura un po' pesante e molto ripetitiva.