| Title | : | Calvet's Web: Enlightenment and the Republic of Letters in Eighteenth-Century France |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1280759380 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781280759383 |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 471 |
| Publication | : | First published August 29, 2002 |
Calvet's Web: Enlightenment and the Republic of Letters in Eighteenth-Century France Reviews
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Until one gets to the end of this book, one doesn't realize that Brockliss has a larger agenda. The majority of the book paints a portrait of a "mini-republic" of letters which constituted Calvet's intellectual network. But his larger goal is to broaden the understanding of Enlightenment to include a world outside that of the philosophes. Brockliss doesn't believe that the "Republic of Letters" and the Philosophes were two different worlds. He also wants to challenge the what he calls "the established Anglo-American interpretation" of the Enlightenment which sets up a British exceptionalism.
Interesting, if sometimes overly long and detailed, look at an 18th century intellectual network. Brockliss says that more research is needed before claims that it was a representative group can be made, but it does seem likely.
