The French Second Empire
The French Second Empire
This book is about a major historical figure, Napoleon III, and a political regime. It examines how Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of the first Napoleon) was able to secure election as President of the Republic and subsequently to launch a coup d'état to establish a Second Empire. It then considers the ways in which power was exercised by the new imperial regime. Later, apparent stability led Napoleon III to engage in a difficult process of transition towards a more liberal regime; but at the point of success the decision was taken to go to war against Prussia which resulted in a catastrophic defeat and the destruction of his regime. This is a most thoroughly researched book on the Second Empire, which makes a contribution to our knowledge of a vitally important period of French history following the 1848 revolution and the intense mid-century crisis.
- A major contribution to the history of the Second Empire in France, a crucial topic in modern French and European history
- Based on hitherto unequalled archival research as well as on massive secondary sources
- Handles a complex weave of themes and personalities with skill and clarity
Reviews & endorsements
'… a major achievement … It will surely - and deservedly - be regarded as the standard work on the 'anatomy' of a political system now receiving its due attention.' H-FRANCE
'This book should prove to be invaluable to serious students and scholars of the French Second empire for many years to come … an absolute must for any and all serious students of the ill-fated Second Empire and its often (and to a degree overly) maligned emperor, Napoleon III.' History
'… a monumental achievement.' The Times Literary Supplement
'… wide-ranging and remarkably enjoyable.' Graham Robb, London Review of Books
'… Prices's study lies … in his impressive mastery of detail and in how he manages to clothe the bones of his subject with a wealth of information and illustrative material from an astonishingly wide range of sources.' History
Product details
May 2007Paperback
9780521036320
520 pages
228 × 150 × 26 mm
0.76kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I. The Rise of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte:
- 1. President of the Republic
- Part II. State and Society:
- 2. Napoleon III and the Bonapartist state
- 3. The system of government
- 4. The management of elections
- 5. Preserving public order
- 6. Constructing moral order
- 7. Creating the conditions for prosperity
- Conclusion to part II
- Part III. The Rise of Opposition:
- 8. The context for opposition
- 9. The forms of opposition (1) legitimism
- 10. The forms of opposition (2) liberalism
- 11. The forms of opposition (3) republicans in the aftermath of the coup d'état
- 12. The forms of opposition (4) the republican revival
- Conclusion to part III
- Part IV. War and Revolution:
- 13. War and revolution
- General conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index.
