Venality: The Sale of Offices in Eighteenth-Century France

by William Doyle

Overview

In early modern France almost all posts of public responsibility could only be acquired by purchase or inheritance. By the eighteenth century there were 70,000 venal offices comprising the entire judiciary, most of the legal profession, officers in the army, and a wide range of other professions. William Doyle, one of the foremost historians of early modern Europe, traces the evolution and dissolution of a system which was one of the central institutions of French life for over three centuries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198205364
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/30/1997
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.31(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.98(d)
Lexile:	1590L (what's this?)

About the Author

University of Bristol

Editorial Reviews

"[B]y synthesizing existing material, uncovering additional archival evidence, and extending the investigation of veniality into new areas, his book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the Old Regime and Revolution."—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Doyle has written a splendid book...[W]ell argued and rich in detail...The book should be required reading for historians, but anyone with an interest in eighteenth-century society will find it useful. It offers any reader a remarkable window on prerevolutionary France."—History

"Doyle's book is a valuable summary and balance-sheet of the variegated scholarship in the field with some original and perceptive views."—The American Journal of Legal History

From the Publisher