Histoire de France 1715-1723 (Volume 17/19)

The book opens with a vivid portrait of France at the moment Louis XIV dies, ushering in the brief yet transformative Régence. In these first pages the author shows how the sudden loss of the Sun King peeled back a veil that had hidden the kingdom’s inner workings for decades, exposing the mechanics of power, finance and society to a curious public. The narrative frames the period as a three‑fold phenomenon—revelation, revolution and creation—setting the stage for a sweeping re‑examination of French life.

From there the story moves into the energetic churn of economic and social change. It follows the daring experiments of John Law’s paper‑money system, the surge of colonial ventures toward the Mississippi and the Two Indies, and the explosion of public spaces such as cafés where ideas circulate freely. Cultural life blossoms, with new arts, education reforms and a growing sense of a broader, more humanist spirit that begins to replace the rigid orthodoxy of the previous era. The work captures the restless optimism and uncertainty of a nation poised on the brink of modernity.