First published 2000
Robert Darnton digs into the minds of French people during the eighteenth century. He examines how both common citizens and notable figures understood their world in an era historians call the Age of Enlightenment. Through a collection of essays, Darnton reveals the peculiar and fascinating belief systems that shaped daily life across French cities, rural areas, and small towns. His approach unearths the mental landscapes of people from all walks of life. The book shows readers how different past ways of thinking were from our own. Darnton demonstrates that the worldviews of ordinary French people often contradicted the rational ideals we associate with Enlightenment philosophy. The work offers insight into a foreign mental universe that existed centuries ago.
Genres: history, non-fiction, cultural, academic, cultural-studies
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: foreign-mental-universe, historical-non-fiction
Setting: France
Period: 18th Century
320 pages · Paperback · Basic Books