Charmet and the book police : clandestinity, illegality and popular reading in late Ancien Régime France

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    Abstract

    On September 7, 1778, Modeste Monnot, Inspecteur de la librairie, and his adjunct, the bookseller Nicolas-Anne de St Agathe, called at the bookshop of Jean-Félix Charmet. They were searching for contraband works. What they found in Charmet’s boutique on the Grand’rue at the Place Saint-Pierre in Besançon has the power to shock. It also calls us to rethink our understanding of the book trade of the later enlightenment, to re-contextualize the place of clandestine publishing, and to radically revise standard accounts of popular reading in the late eighteenth century. As for Charmet, his business clearly bore little resemblance to descriptions in existing historical literature.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)34-55
    Number of pages22
    JournalFrench History and Civilization: papers from the George Rude Seminar
    Volume6
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Keywords

    • 18th century
    • Charmet, Jean-Felix
    • France
    • book industries and trade
    • enlightenment
    • publishers and publishing
    • publishing

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