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Article: The Republic of Letters: A Cultural History of the French Enlightenment.
- Article from:
- The Review of Metaphysics
- Article date:
- December 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Philosophy Education Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Goodman, Dena. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996. xiv + 338 pp. Cloth, $35.00; paper, $15.95--In this book, Goodman has made a major contribution to the study of the social and political currents of the French Enlightenment. Previous histories of the period tended to gloss over, or igore downright, some of the most important people and institutions involved in the gradual extension of literacy and public debate that would culminate in the upheavals of the French Revolution. In particular, the central role of the Parisian salon and the work of its presiding genius, the salonniere, have not received the attention they merit. It is Goodman's thesis that the salon was chief ...