Introduction: A cultural history of the French Enlightenment
The rise of the state: The Republic of Letters and the monarchy of France. The Republic of Letters in the seventeenth century ; The Encyclopedie and the project of Enlightenment ; Citizenship and the Enlightenment Republic of Letters ;
Philosophes and salonnieres: A critique of Enlightenment historiography. Rousseau's critique of salons and philosophes ; Rousseau's critique and twentieth-century historiography ; The Enlightenment salonniere
Governing the Republic of Letters: Salonnieres and the rule(s) of polite conversation ; Cultural practices of the Old Regime ; Republican governance in the salons ; Polite conversation and the Enlightenment discourse
Into writing: Epistolary commerce in the Republic
(cont.) of Letters. Letters in the Enlightment Republic of Letters ; Nouvelles a la Main and Correspondances litteraires ; Periodicals ; Public subscription
Into print: Discord in the Republic of Letters. Galiani's Dialogues sur le commerce des bles ; The physiocrats fight back ; Morellet's Refutation ; Diderot's Apologie
Masculine self-goverance and the end of salon culture. The apotheois of public opinion
Pahin de la Blancherie: General agent of the Republic of Letters ; Masonic sociability ; The Musee de Monsieur ; Increased competition and the struggle for survival
Conclusion: The Enlightenment of Letters and the French Revolution. Brissot's Lycee de Londres ; The Cercle Social and the Jacobin Club ; A reevaluation of Tocqueville.