The French Emigres In Europe And The Struggle Against Revolution 1789 1814

The French Émigrés in Europe and the Struggle against Revolution, 1789-1814 underlines, for the first time, the achievements rather than the failures, of the Émigrés. Different specialist essays describe their impact from London to Hungary, from Lisbon to Prussia, and confirm their critical importance in the politics, ideology and culture of their time. The French Émigrés were more than refugees, they were active, and often remarkably successful, agents on the European struggle against the French Revolution.

Kirsty Carpenter puts a human face on the victims of revolutionary legislation. London had the largest community of émigrés. It had the most evolved social structure and was the most politically-active community. It was in London that two cultures came face-to-face with their prejudices and were forced to confront them.

The French emigration was an exilic movement triggered by the 1789 French Revolution with long-lasting social, cultural, and political impacts that continued well into the nineteenth century. At times paradoxical, the political and legal implications of being an émigré are detangled in this edited collection, thus bringing to light unexpected processes of tensions and compromises between the exiles and their host societies. The refugee/host contact points also fostered a series of cultural transfers. This book argues that the French emigration ought to be seen within the broader context of an ‘Age of Exile’, a notion that better encompasses the dynamics of migration that forced many to re-imagine their relation to a nation and define their displaced identities. Revisiting the historiography of the last twenty years from an interdisciplinary perspective, this volume challenges pre-existing beliefs on the journeys and re-settlements – in Europe and beyond – of the French émigré community.

The French Revolution, politics and the modern nation -- French and the civilizing mission -- Paris and magnetic appeal -- France stirs up the melting pot -- France hurtles into the future.

Beginning with a discussion of familiar images of the French Revolution, this work looks at how the ancien régime became ancien as well as examining cases in which achievement failed to match ambition.