Grub Street Abroad

Eighteenth-century French readers who wanted to keep up with political and literary trends, had to rely on books and journals imported from abroad. French writers, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, also depended on foreign firms to get their works in print. Grub Street Abroad demonstrates the importance of extraterritorial publishing for the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. By placing the periphery at the centre of the stage, it highlights neglected cosmopolitan aspects of the...
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Eighteenth-century French readers who wanted to keep up with political and literary trends, had to rely on books and journals imported from abroad. French writers, such as Voltaire and Rousseau, also depended on foreign firms to get their works in print. Grub Street Abroad demonstrates the importance of extraterritorial publishing for the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. By placing the periphery at the centre of the stage, it highlights neglected cosmopolitan aspects of the French Enlightenment and points to forces which undercut Bourbon claims of cultural hegemony. Firms serving French markets from abroad are viewed as part of a far-flung communications network which comprised a relatively autonomous, independent field of operations. Topics covered include the publishing and editing of francophone journals and clandestine manuscripts; the emergence of the book review and the editorial board; the reliance of the philosophes upon foreign firms; the cosmopolitan outlook of so-called `Grub Street hacks'.