Surviving Revolution: Bourgeois Families in France, 1780-1830

FAIN: FT-57687-10

Denise Zara Davidson
Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA 30303-3011)

What impact did the French Revolution have on the lives and views of bourgeois families? The men and women I am studying through their letters and other traces of their lives recognized that the Revolution both opened up opportunities for them and brought obstacles and risks to their financial, social, and emotional well-being. In response they developed new strategies and practices which are central to any understanding of bourgeois identity in this period. The letters at the core of my research make clear that intimacy and affect were crucial to social advancement, success in business, and gaining political influence during this period when the public and private spheres were supposedly becoming more distinct. By focusing on the family, the heart of the bourgeoisie in every sense of the term, my book emphasizes the overlapping nature of these various arenas of life.