The French Republic

An invaluable reference work on the the history and meaning of Republicanism in France.

Edward Berenson is Professor of History and French Studies at New York University. He is the author of The Trial of Madame Caillaux and Heroes of Empire, among other books. Vincent Duclert, France's leading expert on the Dreyfus Affair, is the author of books including L'Affaire Dreyfus and Dreyfus au Panthéon. Christophe Prochasson, one of France's top cultural and political historians, is the author of books including Les années électriques, 1880–1910 and Au nom de la patrie.

The original [French-language] volume was very much a 'critical dictionary,' with an original scholarly approach, but nonetheless something of the monumentality of many other dictionaries.... This volume—far slimmer, with its forty short essays—develops much further the questioning and critical nature of their approach. It is the more indispensable, indeed, for being lighter, brisker, and more plural in its deliberate attempt to solicit a range of often contradictory perspectives. In making this shift, the project has taken on new dynamism by deliberately setting out to offer a trans-Atlantic regard croisé, with Edward Berenson joining the editorial team and a range of American scholars, many of them among the most eminent in their fields, writing reflections as scholars of France (in some cases) or as scholars of Western social, political or intellectual history more generally.... The effect of this infusion of intellectual and cultural history by American authors is to underline what I think they had always sought to do: to provide a critical discussion of French republics, republicanism and republican culture.

French republicanism is often presented as unitary, centralized, and secular, and the various essays here examine how regional identities, feminism, immigration, and cultural difference have challenged the neo-Jacobin understanding of the 'one and indivisible' nation.... The essays arc brief but thorough, and each is accompanied by a list of suggested further readings, making this work an invaluable resource to students of French history. Summing up: Highly recommended.

Susan B. Whitney:

The French Republic is an invaluable resource for historians of modern France. The thirty-eight essays, written by eminent scholars representing three countries and multiple intellectual traditions and generations, are of an uncommonly high quality. Although some are less tightly focused than others, the vast majority are clearly written, well-conceived, and authoritative, blending synthesis with fresh analysis. Because of the volume's unusual structure, the book ranges more widely than most edited collections and provides a great diversity of pieces that are nonetheless in dialogue with one another.

Emile Chabal, Oxford University Press Journals:

[S]ome of the contributions are veritable masterclasses of synthesis. For example, the opening chapters on specific periods—especially those by Julian Jackson on Vichy and Martin Schain on the Fifth Republic—offer up refreshingly short and concentrated summaries of their respective topics. They are models of concision and would be ideal for confused undergraduate students....Herrick Chapman's sparkling chapter on 'The State' manages to raise some crucial questions about the relationship of the French people to their most cherished institution in a handful of pages; Jeremy Jennings deploys his considerable powers of synthesis in his lightning discussions of 'Liberty,' 'Equality' and 'Universalism;' Steven Englund offers a spirited rebuttal of the idea that the French were an anti-Semitic people in the early twentieth-century; and both Alice Conklin and John Bowen offer careful appraisals of 'The Civilizing Mission' and 'The Republic and the Veil' respectively. Again, these would all provide useful introductions for students, and they are a window into the extremely high quality of English-language historical work on France.