{"product_id":"the-diplomatic-retreat-of-france-and-public-opinion-on-the-eve-of-the-french-revolution-1783-1789","title":"The Diplomatic Retreat of France and Public Opinion on the Eve of the French Revolution, 1783-1789","description":"Used hardcover in Very Good condition. From the Publisher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA perceptive inquiry into the role of public opinion in the coming of the French Revolution.\u003cbr\u003eThe settlement of the War of the American Revolution in 1783 provided French statesmen with the splendid illusion that, once again, the French monarch sat as arbiter of Europe. It took only six short years to destroy that illusion. Between 1783 and 1789 a series of diplomatic defeats and humiliations expelled France from the role of arbiter. By late 1788, the Comte de Montmorin, Louis XVI's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, faced with diplomatic catastrophes abroad and financial crisis at home, recognized that he was trapped in \"the rigor of circumstances.\"\u003cbr\u003eIn this engaging narrative history, Orville T. Murphy explores the diplomatic collapse of France and the subsequent public response to it, and concludes that both were major causes of the French Revolution. Though the monarchy held that foreign policy was the exclusive realm of the king, by the 1780s it was apparent that public opinion had wrested foreign policy from the secrecy and reserve of the king's cabinet. The public perceived that its monarch was out of touch with foreign affairs or that it cared nothing for some of the fundamental foreign interests of France. Critics concluded the king was indifferent, ineffective or, at best, surrounded by incompetent, corrupt, and cowardly ministers. These ideas insinuated themselves into every discussion of domestic policy, of financial reform, and of foreign affairs; as Murphy's study makes clear, they were also significant causes of the French Revolution.\u003cbr\u003eThis book will be of great interest to students and scholars of European diplomatic history, the French monarchy, and the French Revolution.\u003cbr\u003e\"Murphy is one of the most respected authorities of Old Regime diplomatic history, and this new work will further enhance his reputation. This book is based on a sound reading of relevant secondary literature and a thorough exploration of little-used archival sources. Because French diplomacy in the years immediately preceding 1789 has been virtually ignored by historians, Murphy adds an important new element to any discussion of the background of the French Revolution.\"-Prof. Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure University\u003cbr\u003eOrville T. Murphy is professor emeritus of the State University of New York at Buffalo and author of Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes: Diplomacy in the Age of Revolution, 1719-1787.","brand":"Murphy, Orville Theodore","offers":[{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":52788977533211,"sku":"mon0000796800","price":355.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0958\/4004\/3291\/files\/14387403482477.jpg?v=1786397150","url":"https:\/\/bookalley.com\/products\/the-diplomatic-retreat-of-france-and-public-opinion-on-the-eve-of-the-french-revolution-1783-1789","provider":"Book Alley","version":"1.0","type":"link"}