When The World Spoke French (Paperback)

Marc Fumaroli

ISBN 10: 1590173759 / ISBN 13: 9781590173756

Published by New York Review Books, New York, 2011

About this Item

Paperback. From the death of Louis XIV to the Revolution-in Sweden, Austria, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, and Germany; among kings and queens, diplomats, military leaders, writers, great ladies, and artists-French was the universal language. This book presents a series of portraits of foreigners who conversed and corresponded in French regardless of their native language, accompanied by excerpts from their letters or other writings, to demonstrate the genius of the language in the period when it was the political and intellectual lingua franca of Europe. Profiled here are figures familiar to English-speaking readers, such as Catherine the Great, Francisco Goya, Horace Walpole, and Benjamin Franklin. Here too are many who are less well known today: Stanis_as II Augustus Poniatowski, the last king of Poland; Gustave III of Sweden; and Gouverneur Morris, the U.S. ambassador to France during the Terror. All of them were irresistibly attracted to France; to the ideal of human happiness inspired by the Enlightenment, whose capital was Paris; and to the taste, style of living, and modes of social pleasure that spread from France across the Continent.Marc Fumaroli provides glimpses not only into their public and private lives but also into a conception of the "sweetness of life" that France and its language nourished for nearly a century. From the death of Louis XIV to the Revolution - in Sweden, Austria, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, and Germany; among kings and queens, diplomats, military leaders, writers, great ladies, and artists - French was the universal language. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781590173756

Bibliographic Details

• Title: When The World Spoke French (Paperback)
• Publisher: New York Review Books, New York
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1590173759
• ISBN 13: 9781590173756
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A New York Review Books Original

During the eighteenth century, from the death of Louis XIV until the Revolution, French culture set the standard for all of Europe. In Sweden, Austria, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, and Germany, among kings and queens, diplomats, military leaders, writers, aristocrats, and artists, French was the universal language of politics and intellectual life. In When the World Spoke French, Marc Fumaroli presents a gallery of portraits of Europeans and Americans who conversed and corresponded in French, along with excerpts from their letters or other writings. 

  These men and women, despite their differences, were all irresistibly attracted to the ideal of human happiness inspired by the Enlightenment, whose capital was Paris and whose king was Voltaire. Whether they were in Paris or far away, speaking French connected them in spirit with all those who desired to emulate Parisian tastes, style of life, and social pleasures. Their stories are testaments to the appeal of that famous “sweetness of life” nourished by France and its language. 

About the Author

Marc Fumaroli is a scholar of French classical rhetoric and art. He is a member of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Société d’histoire littéraire de la France, and the Académie française. Fumaroli received from the Académie française, before being elected a member, the Monseigneur Marcel Prize in 1982 and the Critique Prize in 1992, and he is president of the Société des Amis du Louvre. He won the Balzan Prize for Literary History and Criticism in 2001, and is the author of numerous books including L'Âge de l'éloquence, Héros et orateurs, L'École du silence, and Trois institutions littéraires.

Richard Howard received a National Book Award for his translation of Les Fleurs du mal and a Pulitzer Prize for Untitled Subjects, his third volume of poems. He is the translator of the NYRB Classics Alien Hearts and The Unknown Masterpiece.