Michael P. Fitzsimmons is Professor of History Emeritus at Auburn University at Montgomery. His previous books include The Place of Words: The Académie Française and Its Dictionary during an Age of Revolution, The Night the Old Regime Ended: August 4, 1789 and The French Revolution, and The Parisian Order of Barristers and the French Revolution.

• Introduction PART I. THE CREATION OF A BOURBON STYLE OF GOVERNMENT1. The Rebuilding of Royal Authority 2. Louis XV: Transition and Discord over Monarchy-Centered Government PART II. THE TERMINAL CRISIS OF THE OLD REGIME3. The Descent into Crisis4. The Erosion of Monarchy-Centered Government5. Toward the Estates-General PART III. THE REALIZATION OF THE CONSTITUTION6. The Pledge of a Constitution7. The Collapse of Monarchy-Centered Government8. The Expansion of the Constitution9. The Completion and Consolidation of the Constitution ConclusionBibliographyIndex

One of the distinctive features of Fitzsimmons's fine book is that he goes well beyond the usual confines of debates in Versailles and Paris, using provincial sources to highlightthe intense interaction of deputies with their constituents.

Michael P. Fitzsimmons is Professor of History Emeritus at Auburn University at Montgomery. His previous books include The Place of Words: The Académie Française and Its Dictionary during an Age of Revolution, The Night the Old Regime Ended: August 4, 1789 and The French Revolution, and The Parisian Order of Barristers and the French Revolution.

• Introduction PART I. THE CREATION OF A BOURBON STYLE OF GOVERNMENT1. The Rebuilding of Royal Authority 2. Louis XV: Transition and Discord over Monarchy-Centered Government PART II. THE TERMINAL CRISIS OF THE OLD REGIME3. The Descent into Crisis4. The Erosion of Monarchy-Centered Government5. Toward the Estates-General PART III. THE REALIZATION OF THE CONSTITUTION6. The Pledge of a Constitution7. The Collapse of Monarchy-Centered Government8. The Expansion of the Constitution9. The Completion and Consolidation of the Constitution ConclusionBibliographyIndex

One of the distinctive features of Fitzsimmons's fine book is that he goes well beyond the usual confines of debates in Versailles and Paris, using provincial sources to highlightthe intense interaction of deputies with their constituents.

Michael P. Fitzsimmons is Professor of History Emeritus at Auburn University at Montgomery. His previous books include The Place of Words: The Académie Française and Its Dictionary during an Age of Revolution, The Night the Old Regime Ended: August 4, 1789 and The French Revolution, and The Parisian Order of Barristers and the French Revolution.

• Introduction PART I. THE CREATION OF A BOURBON STYLE OF GOVERNMENT1. The Rebuilding of Royal Authority 2. Louis XV: Transition and Discord over Monarchy-Centered Government PART II. THE TERMINAL CRISIS OF THE OLD REGIME3. The Descent into Crisis4. The Erosion of Monarchy-Centered Government5. Toward the Estates-General PART III. THE REALIZATION OF THE CONSTITUTION6. The Pledge of a Constitution7. The Collapse of Monarchy-Centered Government8. The Expansion of the Constitution9. The Completion and Consolidation of the Constitution ConclusionBibliographyIndex

One of the distinctive features of Fitzsimmons's fine book is that he goes well beyond the usual confines of debates in Versailles and Paris, using provincial sources to highlightthe intense interaction of deputies with their constituents.