Originally published in 1964. Jeffry Kaplow investigates the effects of the French Revolution on life in Elbeuf, a textile town in Normandy, through a social-historical lens. A careful study of local demographic, fiscal, and tax records allows him to reconstruct the social structure of Elbeuf's population on the eve of the French Revolution and to make claims about its economy, which was based on wool production. Somewhat unusually, there was no strong noble or clerical presence in Elbeuf, which was dominated by wool manufacturers. Despite the destabilizing effects of the Revolution, which...
Originally published in 1964. Jeffry Kaplow investigates the effects of the French Revolution on life in Elbeuf, a textile town in Normandy, through a social-historical lens. A careful study of local demographic, fiscal, and tax records allows him to reconstruct the social structure of Elbeuf's population on the eve of the French Revolution and to make claims about its economy, which was based on wool production. Somewhat unusually, there was no strong noble or clerical presence in Elbeuf, which was dominated by wool manufacturers. Despite the destabilizing effects of the Revolution, which included an economic downturn and an inflamed sense of grievance among less wealthy local constituencies, the bourgeoisie retained its grip on power in Elbeuf and its environs throughout this period. With the support of extensive archival evidence, Kaplow goes to great lengths to model the particular social and economic conditions that allowed this town to avoid succumbing to the tumult of the Revolution and to undergo, in fact, so little change compared with most municipalities of the country.
Preface List of Tables Chapter 1. Elbeuf: The Town and the Industry Chapter 2. The Social Structure of Elbeuf, 1770–89 Chapter 3. Economic Problems and Industrial Development During the Revolution Chapter
Preface List of Tables Chapter 1. Elbeuf: The Town and the Industry Chapter 2. The Social Structure of Elbeuf, 1770–89 Chapter 3. Economic Problems and Industrial Development During the Revolution Chapter 4. The Political Structure of Elbeuf Chapter 5. Politics and the Revolution in Elbeuf Appendix Bibliography Index
Jeffry Kaplow (1937–2019) was born to working-class Russian Jewish immigrants in New York. He obtained a PhD in French history from Princeton before moving to the newly established University Paris VIII to teach American history in the late 1960s. He later founded an art dealership with his partner, Swedish journalist Ulla Svahnström. After moving to London in the 1990s, Kaplow trained as an actor...
