When the World Spoke French

In the 18th century, French was the language of culture and diplomacy, uniquely suited to express the wit and style of mainly European political, social, and literary luminaries, according to veteran French scholar Fumaroli.%C2%A0Letters and memoirs composed in French from major figures like Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia, along with relative unknowns like Neapolitan Abb%C3%A9 Galiani or American Gouverneur Morris, map a trail from the enlightened salons of Paris to the partition of Poland by Prussia, Russia, and Austria in the 18th century. In a convulsed Poland, its king deposed, asserts Fumaroli, "the age's much-prized diplomacy, sensibility, and philosophy dropped the mask and revealed its underpinnings of realpolitik, cynicism, and sycophancy." The smooth translation by Pulitzer winner Howard facilitates appreciation of the witty writers, although obscure words such as "aulic" and "bedizenment" crop up in Fumaroli's biographical and historical backgrounds. Whether randomly selecting a chapter or treating the book as a saga sweeping inexorably toward the Polish debacle and the French Reign of Terror, readers cannot fail to find their own enlightenment in these gems. (June)