LEON HARMEL IS A PENETRATING study of the French industrialist who from 1870 to 1914 advanced social Catholic and Christian democratic movements by improving factory conditions and empowering workers. Joan Coffey's fascinating new book represents the first major study of Leon Harmel in English. Harmel's model factory at Val-des-Bois demonstrated that mutual accord and respect were possible between labor and management. Harmel turned his profitable spinning mill into a Christian corporation. His ethical business practices captured the attention of Pope Leo XIII and inspired his encyclical Rerum Novarum. Harmel also encouraged his workers to make pilgrimages to Rome. The collaboration of Pope Leo XIII and Leon Harmel laid the foundation of enterprises that collectively became known as Christian democracy. Drawing on extensive archival sources, including the Vatican Archives, Joan Coffey's work skillfully analyzes the personal relationship between Pope Leo XIII and Leon Harmel. Leon Harmel also offers a timely reminder of the power of personal ethics and provides a refreshing antidote to today's business climate.

"Coffey does a masterful job of situating Leon Harmel-his life, his work, his ideology-in the context of French political and social turmoil in the last third of the nineteenth century. More than a Catholic paternalist, Harmel created a model 'earthly paradise' for his workers, drawing on principles of utopian socialism to give labor control over the factory environment. Harmel's effort to lay the groundwork for class conciliation drew praise even from leading Socialists, and his legacy continues in the contemporary world. Coffey's extraordinary synthesis of scholarly works on social, gender, and labor history is as impressive as her original archival research, making this book an important resource for any historian of France or of social issues. Beautifully written, it is also a great pleasure to read." -Elinor Accampo, University of Southern California