Historian Mansel (Louis XVIII) offers both the political and social history of Paris during the tumultuous period between Napoleon I and Napoleon III. The narrative begins in 1814, with the city in chaos at the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the celebratory welcoming back to the city of the Bourbon king Louis XVIII. Mansel shows us how Louis successfully navigated the unknown waters of constitutional monarchy. But the Bonapartist dreams of empire lived on. Indeed, the entire period covered by Mansel can be viewed as one long struggle between the contending ideologies of republicanism, royalism and Bonapartism, with revolution and restoration the period's dominant themes. The unpopular King Charles X was ousted by a republican revolution in July 1830 after he had suspended freedom of the press and dissolved the Chamber of Deputies. The July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe began with the promise of a "citizen-king" with republican ideals. Yet when faced with opposition in the press and in the streets, Louis-Philippe turned to repression. After several uprisings, a republican revolution came in February of 1848, and by the end of Mansel's skillful account, the Bonapartists have made a comeback. Louis-Napoleon was voted president of the republic in 1848, but by 1852 he'd become emperor Napoleon III. Into all this political history, Mansel weaves a large and vivid dose of social history: portrayals of how great men and women, from Victor Hugo to Chateaubriand, reacted to the major events of the day and sketches of Paris's theater scene, its rich literary culture, cafe society and salons. Mansel is especially adept at placing Paris's history within the context of wider European events. Illus. not seen by PW. (Mar.)
