The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power(New Studies in European History)

This book is about a major historical figure, Napoleon III, and a political regime. It examines how Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of the first Napoleon) was able to secure election as President of the Republic and subsequently to launch a coup d'etat to establish a Second Empire. It then considers the ways in which power was exercised by the new imperial regime. Later, apparent stability led Napoleon III to engage in a difficult process of transition towards a more liberal regime; but at the point of success, the decision was taken to go to war against Prussia which resulted in a catastrophic defeat and the destruction of his regime. This is the most thoroughly researched book on the Second Empire in any language, which makes a contribution to our knowledge of a vitally important period of French history following the 1848 revolution and the intense mid-century crisis.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. The Rise of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte: 1. President of the Republic; Part II. State and Society: 2. Napoleon III and the Bonapartist state; 3. The system of government; 4. The management of elections; 5. Preserving public order; 6. Constructing moral order; 7. Creating the conditions for prosperity; Conclusion to part II; Part III. The Rise of Opposition: 8. The context for opposition; 9. The forms of opposition (1) legitimism; 10. The forms of opposition (2) liberalism; 11. The forms of opposition (3) republicans in the aftermath of the coup d'état; 12. The forms of opposition (4) the republican revival; Conclusion to part III; Part IV. War and Revolution: 13. War and revolution; General conclusion; Select bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Roger Price taught at the University of East Anglia, 1968-1993, eventually becoming Professor of European History. In 1993 he moved to Aberystwyth as Professor of History. His many other books include The French Second Republic: A Social History (1972), Revolution and Reaction: 1848 and the French Second Republic (1975), The Modernisation of Rural France: Communication Networks and Agricultural Market Structures in Nineteenth-Century France (1983), A Social History of Nineteenth-Century France (1987), The Revolutions of 1848 (1988) and A Concise History of France (1993).

Review :
'... a major achievement ... It will surely - and deservedly - be regarded as the standard work on the 'anatomy' of a political system now receiving its due attention.' H-FRANCE 'This book should prove to be invaluable to serious students and scholars of the French Second empire for many years to come ... an absolute must for any and all serious students of the ill-fated Second Empire and its often (and to a degree overly) maligned emperor, Napoleon III.' History '... a monumental achievement.' Times Literary Supplement '... wide-ranging and remarkably enjoyable.' Graham Robb, London Review of Books '... Prices's study lies ... in his impressive mastery of detail and in how he manages to clothe the bones of his subject with a wealth of information and illustrative material from an astonishingly wide range of sources.' History