Satiric Decade

The Satiric Decade analyzes the impact on republicanism of French political satire in newspapers, theaters, street behavior, and even the academy in the 1830s. Author Amy Wiese Forbes argues that satire gave rise to the critical spirit and republicanism that erupted in the 1848 Revolution and that propelled the process by which France evolved from an absolutist monarchy to a liberal and democratic polity in the 1870s.

By Amy Wiese Forbes

This original look at caricature in pre-1848 France shows satire and exaggeration laying the groundwork for a more democratic politics. Amy Forbes's command of detail and her lively style make this important work a pleasure to read. -- Bonnie Smith, Rutgers University Amy Forbes's lively and penetrating book brings the French tradition of political mockery into the modern era to illuminate how satire schooled a post-revolutionary citizenry in republicanism and democracy. Interweaving debate about the political settlements of 1830 with mounting tensions over class and gender, she joins a select group of scholars who are using cultural history to reshape our understanding of early nineteenth-century France. -- Laura Mason, University of Georgia From this often highly entertaining expose of satire, its authors, and its opponents, Forbes concludes that 'republicanism took shape as an aesthetic of satiric criticism-a critical habit of mind'...Forbes surely has provided new insights into the workings of satire, and her book shows how satire, in combination with a lot of other factors, contributed to and redefined republicanism. -- June 2011 The Journal Of Modern History