Nobility and Patrimony in Modern France

Elizabeth C. Macknight is Senior Lecturer in European History at the University of Aberdeen

‘Macknight performs a valuable service by explaining many of the arcane details surrounding the transmission of property. More importantly, she gives a fuller picture of which kinds of sources for studying the French nobility in modern times have survived.’Steven Kale, Washington State University, H-France Review, Vol. 19‘This is an exciting and ambitious work, which necessarily rushes over some topics to cover so much ground, but which has thrown up a wealth of stimulating observations and archival leads for future scholars to explore (and which are helpfully identified in the bibliography). Macknight’s study complements the growing stream of revisionist work on the nobilities of modern Europe. ‘Tom Stammers, Durham University, European History Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1'The book is a valuable addition to existing literature and shines a light on a lesser-studied segment of noble life. Wonderfully selected case studies, presented in a lively narrative, make the reader empathize with the general mood of swimming against the tide.'H-Net

• Introduction1 Protecting property during revolution2 Divisions of inheritance3 Adoption for transmission4 Incapacity and debt5 Landed estates in operation6 Residences and gardens7 Holding the fort in the world wars8 Initiatives for preservation and tourismConclusionIndex