Power and politics in Old Regime France, 1720-1745

Power and Politics in Old Regime France is a major history of the politics of the first half of the reign of Louis XV. It is based on exhaustive archival research and offers a comprehensive analysis of the neglected ministries of the duc de Bourbon and the cardinal de Fleury. Peter Campbell deals first with court, policy and faction. A second section offers new interpretations of the crises provoked by the Jansenism and the Paris parlement. The methods and practices of political management in this period of successful government are contrasted with the crisis of the old regime in the 1780s. An unusually substantial bibliography represents an invaluable resource to the researcher.