New Books In French Studies

Carolyn Eichner's new book, The Paris Commune: A Brief History (Rutgers University Press, 2022) was published on March 18th, the anniversary of the eruption of Paris Commune of 1871. In this accessible history of the 72-day uprising during which the working-class people of Paris established their own government; experimented with forms of radical democracy and social change; and resisted the forces of the French state and military, Eichner explores the Commune within the context of nineteenth-century political, economic, and cultural history in France and beyond its borders. Structured in three parts/chapters that take up the metaphorics of illumination, fluorescence, and explosion, the book follows the lives, ideas, and actions of Communards who sought to bring about a new society, and were ultimately crushed in their efforts. After two and a half months, the French government under the leadership of Adolphe Thiers crushed the Commune during the "Bloody Week" of May 21st-28th. Thousands of Communards met the