France, 1815-1914: The Bourgeois Century

by Roger Magraw

In this lively and stimulating study, Roger Magraw examines how the 19th-century French bourgeoisie struggled and eventually succeeded in consolidating the gains it made in 1789. The book describes the attempts of the bourgeoisie to remold France in its own image and its strategy for overcoming the resistance from the old aristocratic and clerical elites and the popular classes. Incorporating the most recent research on religion and anticlericalism, the development of the economy, the role of women in society, and the educational system, this work is the first to draw extensively on the new social history in its interpretation of events in 19th-century France.

Genres: History

412 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 1986

Reviews

[WIlliam Gerrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on post-revolutionary France, during a period where the bourgeois consolidated their gains from 1789. Three further revolutionary changes of power occurred in France during the studied century and again it was the bourgeois who gained the most from these changes. We see a period of a modernising country, catching up with other industrialised nations. Capitalism endures a fight with the emerging political left which campaigns on behalf of a peasantry and working class whose standards of living are in general on the rise due to new technologies and modernisations. The study goes into each of the classes in depth, during varying periods. Political focuses on anticlericalism, workers' rights, education and preparing the country for impending military dangers from abroad are varied. Often Magraw will introduce a fairly difficult concept as a topic and through the subtle use of repetition he will develop each of these ideas until by the end of the book the text is fast-flowing and comprehensively understood. I particularly enjoyed the focus on the lower strata of society and the impact of the varied political changes. The book definitely compliments other study I have made on the France of this period.

[Edward Lengel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dogmatically Marxist interpretation of French history, and strongly anti-clerical