Saint-Simon and the Court of Louis XIV
Saint-Simon and the Court of Louis XIV

Author: Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2001-07

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9780226473208

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The Duke of Saint-Simon (1675-1755) was a self-obsessed courtier and chronicler of court life under Louis XIV. Drawing heavily on his memoirs, historian Ladurie offers a wonderful portrait of life with Louis, focusing on issues of hierarchy and rank in this tightly controlled universe. Illustrations.

Laughing Histories
Laughing Histories

Author: Joy Wiltenburg

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-06-07

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1000593614

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Laughing Histories breaks new ground by exploring moments of laughter in early modern Europe, showing how laughter was inflected by gender and social power. "I dearly love a laugh," declared Jane Austen's heroine Elizabeth Bennet, and her wit won the heart of the aristocratic Mr. Darcy. Yet the widely read Earl of Chesterfield asserted that only "the mob" would laugh out loud; the gentleman should merely smile. This literary contrast raises important historical questions: how did social rules constrain laughter? Did the highest elites really laugh less than others? How did laughter play out in relations between the sexes? Through fascinating case studies of individuals such as the Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini, the French aristocrat Madame de Sévigné, and the rising civil servant and diarist Samuel Pepys, Laughing Histories reveals the multiple meanings of laughter, from the court to the tavern and street, in a complex history that paved the way for modern laughter. ​ With its study of laughter in relation to power, aggression, gender, sex, class, and social bonding, Laughing Histories is perfect for readers interested in the history of emotions, cultural history, gender history, and literature.

Fashioning the Dandy
Fashioning the Dandy

Author: Olga Vainshtein

Publisher: Anthem Press

Published: 2023-09-12

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1839984465

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The book explores the dandy as a cultural type across Europe and Russia from the eighteenth century through the present day. Olga Vainshtein offers a unique view on dandyism as a cultural tradition, based not merely on fashionable attire, but also as a particular lifestyle with specific standards of behaviour, bodily practices and conceptual approaches to dress. The dandy is described as the prototypical hero of the modern cult of celebrities. From clubbing manners, the techniques of virtual aristocratism, urban flâneurs and the correct way to examine people, Vainshtein walks us through optical duels and the techniques of visual assessment at social gatherings. Readers will learn about strategies of subversive behaviour found in practical jokes, the fine art of noble scandal, dry wit, bare-faced impudence and mocking politeness. Looking at dandyism as a nineteenth-century literary movement, Vainshtein examines representation of dandies in fiction. Finally, a large section is devoted to Russian and Soviet dandyism and the dandies of today.