Europe of the Ancient Regime, 1715-1783

No age in European history presents a more striking range of contrasts than that which precedes the French Revolution.

Often described as the Age of Reason, in recognition of such men as Kant, Hume, Diderot and Voltaire, it was also, as Mr. Ogg points out, an age of sentiment and irrational conservatism. In war and politics it witnessed the rise of the British Empire and the birth of the USA, the career of Frederick the Great and the beginnings of modern power politics. Yet the years from 1715-1740 are here summarised as “a period of diplomatic futility and inconclusiveness probably unmatched in European history.” And in trade and agriculture, in law and public administration, the co-existence of the archaic and the barbarous with the civilised and scientific is equally conspicuous.

This book is a lucid and stimulating account of the old Europe and the countries that composed it. The reader will find in it much out-of-the-way information and an interpretation at once sensitive and personal, giving life and colour to a period too often buried under a mass of detail….

“Mr. Ogg succeeds admirably in telling us much more about, and interesting us much more in, the 18th century than omnibus volumes usually do. Just what is wanted to provoke the reader to redefine 18th-century civilisation… and to wonder again about old definitions like ‘age of reason’ and ‘age of absolutism’.” –The New Statesman

“…Professor Ogg has somehow managed to produce a book that is as amusing as it is informative. An excellent book, sound in learning, witty in expression and reflecting so agreeable and civilised a personality.” –Books & Bookmen

“An excellent introduction to 18th century Europe… a most readable book. All the factual bones are there, with a flesh of reflective wisdom.” –The Times (London) Literary Supplement