{"product_id":"the-literary-underground-of-the-old-regime-paperback","title":"The Literary Underground of the Old Regime - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert Darnton\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eI. R. Darnton\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert Darnton introduces us to the shadowy world of pirate publishers, garret scribblers, under-the-cloak book peddlers, smugglers, and police spies that composed the literary underground of the Enlightenment. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHere are the ambitious writers who crowded into Paris seeking fame and fortune within the Republic of Letters, but who instead sank into the miserable world of Grub Street--victims of a closed world of protection and privilege. Venting their frustrations in an illicit literature of vitriolic pamphlets, \u003ci\u003elibelles\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003echroniques scandaleuses\u003c\/i\u003e, these \"Rousseaus of the gutter\" desecrated everything sacred in the social order of the Old Regime. Here too are the workers who printed their writings and the clandestine booksellers who distributed them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile censorship, a monopolistic guild, and the police contained the visible publishing industry within the limits of official orthodoxies, a prolific literary underworld disseminated a vast illegal literature that conveyed a seditious ideology to readers everywhere in France. Covering their traces in order to survive, the creators of this eighteenth-century counterculture have virtually disappeared from history. By drawing on an ingenious selection of previously hidden sources, such as police ledgers and publishers' records, Robert Darnton reveals for the first time the fascinating story of that forgotten underworld. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe activities of the underground bear on a broad range of issues in history and literature, and they directly concern the problem of uncovering the ideological origins of the French Revolution. This engaging book illuminates those issues and provides a fresh view of publishing history that will inform and delight the general reader.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert Darnton introduces us to the shadowy world of pirate publishers, garret scribblers, under-the-cloak book peddlers, smugglers, and police spies that composed the literary underground of the Enlightenment. By drawing on an ingenious selection of previously hidden sources, he reveals for the first time the fascinating story of this eighteenth-century counterculture that has virtually disappeared from history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.76 x 9.22 x 6.13 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 15, 1985\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42723503636543,"sku":"9780674536579","price":73.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/381736e88db661c7263f373c485c83d9.webp?v=1765099380","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/the-literary-underground-of-the-old-regime-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}