Roger Chartier (b. 1945) is one of the most prominent representatives of modern French historical science, director of research at the Higher School of Social Sciences in Paris. His generalizing works make a valuable contribution to the study of the history of the 18th century, identifying new ways of developing knowledge about the past. This book traces the formation of social consciousness that made possible the Great French Revolution of 1789.

Enlightenment and revolution. Revolution and Enlightenment. What is Enlightenment. “The Path of Printing.” Bookmaking and the field of literary activity. Can books make a revolution?. De-Christianization and secularization. Debunking of the king?. New political culture. Do revolutions have cultural origins?.