Norton History of Modern Europe – serie

The chief sponsor of national revolutions at the beginning of the period was Napoleon III, who hoped to re-establish French ascendancy in Europe, but he was defeated by the forces of a rising and newly unified power-Germany under Bismarck. As in the first edition, Norman Rich traces the spread of nationalism across the continent. He has, however, greatly amplified his treatment of the social and intellectual consequences of industrialization, with particular emphasis on the changing demography of Europe and cultural trends at all levels of society.

These years also encompassed the birth, maturation, and waning of the Enlightenment. Leonard Krieger shows how the monarchical tradition and the new intellectual developments were reflected in the latter half of the period during the rule of "philosopher kings," the enlightened absolutists. He analyses, too, the origins of a movement toward representative government and the stirrings of political and social revolt that would bring the period to an abrupt end.