Sentimental Theater of the French Revolution

Cecilia Feilla is Associate Professor of English and World Literature at Marymount Manhattan College, USA.

• Preface; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; Chapter 1 The Bestsellers of the French Revolution, or, Why Sentimentality Dominated the Revolutionary Stage: Four Case Studies; Chapter 2 Revolutionary; Tableaux; : Diderot, David, and the Sentimental Frame of Politics; Chapter 3 Sentimental Vows and the Affective Bonds of Social Contract: National and Private Theatricals in Collot d’Herbois’s; La Famille Patriote; (1790); Chapter 4 Virtue’s Proofs:; Paméla; on Stage and on Trial during the Terror; Chapter 5 Virtuous Citizen, Suffering Father: Voltaire’s; Brutus; and the Sentimentalization of Political Tragedy; Chapter 6 Acting Revolution: Talma and the Sentimental Body;

’This is a highly informative work that places Revolutionary theatre at the centre of political and cultural developments. While it will be of value to anyone with an interest in the plays under discussion, it should be especially compelling to those working in the area of eighteenth-century theatre, culture, and politics.’ Modern Language Review 'Feilla’s book is remarkably well-documented. The author has been scrupulous in her reading of the literature and offers genuinely original insights on the sentimental character of a corpus that has largely been ignored.' H-France Review ’...this is a welcome addition to a growing literature on the culture of the French Revolution and offers a useful corrective to excessively political readings of its theatre. It is sure to be of vital interest to all those interested in the history of the emotions, in Revolutionary and eighteenth-century culture, and in theatre history.’ French Studies '... Feilla sheds fresh light upon a range of texts and practices that critics have tended to pass over. ... recommended to those interested in Revolutionary theater, eighteenth-century popular culture and politics, and the history of the emotions more generally.' Restoration and 18th Century Theatre Research 'Overall this is an ambitious, wide-ranging and thought-provoking monograph which is set to become required reading for everyone working on cultural production of the Revolutionary decade and the early nineteenth century.' BARS Review 'This insightful, articulate study illustrates the impact that theatrical esthetics had upon the French Revolution’s overarching goal of transforming society. Drawing upon statistical data of Parisian theater repertories, performance studies, affect theory, and the forms and functions of sentimentality, Feilla showcases the literary vitality of a largely forgotten body of plays and theatrical writings that transformed Enlightenment ideals into nineteenth-century paradigms. ... The Sent