The devil in the holy water or the art of slander from Louis XIV to Napoleon
By: Robert Darnton.
Series: Material texts; Material texts
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 534
ISBN-13: 9780812241839
Subjects: French literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism; Underground literature -- Publishing -- France -- History -- 18th century; Libel and slander in literature; Libel and slander -- France -- History -- 18th century; Authors and publishers -- France -- History -- 18th century; Publishers and publishing -- France -- History -- 18th century; Law and literature -- France -- History -- 18th century; Literature and society -- France -- History -- 18th century
Other titles: Devil in the holy water
Description: "Slander has always been a nasty business, Robert Darnton notes, but that is no reason to consider it an unworthy topic of inquiry. By destroying reputations, it has often helped to delegitimize regimes and bring down governments. Nowhere has this been more the case than in eighteenth-century France, when a ragtag group of literary libelers flooded the market with works that purported to expose the wicked behavior of the great. Salacious or seditious, outrageous or hilarious, their books and pamphlets claimed to reveal the secret doings of kings and their mistresses, the lewd and extravagant activities of an unpopular foreign-born queen, the affairs of aristocrats and men-about-town as they consorted with servants, monks, and dancing masters. These libels often mixed scandal with detailed accounts of contemporary history and current politics. And though they are now largely forgotten, many sold as well as or better than some of the most famous works of the Enlightenment." "Darnton here weaves a tale so full of intrigue that it may seem too extravagant to be true, although all its details can be confirmed in the archives of the French police and diplomatic service. Part detective story, part revolutionary history, TheDevil in the Holy Water has much to tell us about the nature of authorship and the book trade, about Grub Street journalism and the shaping of public opinion, and about the important work that scurrilous words have done in many times and places."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Interlocking libels. The armor-plated gazetteer; title: The devil in the holy water; title: The Parisian police unveiled; title: The secret life of Pierre Manuel; title: The end of the line; title: Politics and police work. Slander and politics; title: The book police at work; title: A double agent and his authors; title: Secret missions; title: Hugger-mugger; title: Entrapment; title: The view from Versailles; title: The devil in the Bastille; title: Bohemians before Bohemianism; title: The Grub Street route to revolution; title: Slander into terror; title: Words and deeds; title: Postscript, 1802; title: The literature of libel : basic ingredients. The nature of libels; title: Anecdotes; title: Portraits; title: News; title: The literature of libel : private lives. Revolutionary metamorphoses; title: Sex and politics; title: Decadence and despotism; title: Royal depravity; title: Private lives and public affairs; title: Conclusion.