This book has been carefully planned to give a coherent account of the impact of religion in France over the last two hundred years. Most books in English dealing with the subject are now dated, and in any case concentrate on institutional questions of church-state relations rather than on the wider influence of religion throughout France. These essays summarise recent French research and provide a concise up-to-date introduction to the history of modern French Catholicism.

This book provides a balanced and up-to-date analysis of Catholicism in Britain and France by leading experts on various aspects of the faith in the two hundred years since the French Revolution. By focusing on two countries whose religious establishment and experience were markedly different, and by adopting a comparative approach, the book is able to offer a fresh and unusual perspective on the challenges facing the Catholic Church in the modern world and on its impact not only on believers but also on the two societies as a whole.

War and Society in Early Modern Europe takes a fresh approach to military history. Rather than looking at tactics and strategy, it aims to set warfare in social and institutional contexts. Focusing on the early-modern period in western Europe, Frank Tallett gives an insight into the armies and shows how warfare had an impact on different social groups, as well as on the economy and on patterns of settlement.

The period 1350-1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion.

Frank Tallett draws upon the research of French, German, Scandinavian and English scholars to produce an innovative synthesis which illustrates how and why armies of unprecedented size were raised. He explores the ordinary soldier's experience of conflict and his life in the army; reveals how warfare might bring about demographic changes and affect patterns of land tenure; and examines the fiscal implications of war, its impact on different social groups and the economy, and its implications for the growth of state power.

The period 1350-1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion.

Nicholas Atkin and Frank Tallett offer the first one-volume historical overview of European Catholicism from the 18th century to 2002. The authors record the Church struggling to adapt to the new political landscape ushered in by the French Revolution and show how the formation of nation states and identities was both helped and hindered by the Catholic establishment. They portray the Vatican increasingly out of step in the wake of world war, Cold War, and the massive expansion of the developing world, with its problems of population growth and under-development. This is not the story of the Church in all its glory, but one of adaptation and change, of decline and resilience as the Church has responded to social, political, and cultural changes over the last 250 years.

The Catholic Church has always been a major player in European and even world history. Whether it has enjoyed a religious dominance or existed as a minority religion, Catholicism has never been diverted from political life. This book records the Church struggling to adapt to the new political landscape ushered in by the French Revolution, and shows how the formation of nation states and identities was both helped and hindered by the Catholic establishment. It portrays the Vatican increasingly out of step in the wake of two world wars, the Cold War and the massive expansion of the developing world, with its problems of population growth and under-development.

The French Right is a constant, evolving and continuing theme in all aspects of the political life of the French nation - shaping much of this country's nation-state from the Revolution to the present - and is now a burning contemporary issue. The authors show how the influence of the French Right has entered into all areas of political, economic, social, cultural, religious and especially, radical aspects of Bonapartism, the Vichy experience and the World Wars, Gaullism, post-Gaullism and the resurgence of the Right under Le Pen. This edition updates the story and demonstrates that the French Right, despite electoral defeat, remains a potent force ans an underlying constant in French political experience.