Myth of Absolutism

<p>Conventionally, ``absolutism'' in early-modern Europe has suggested unfettered autocracy and despotism -- the erosion of rights, the centralisation of decision-making, the loss of liberty. Everything, in a word, that was un-British but characteristic of ancien-regime France. Recently historians have questioned such comfortably simplistic views. This lively investigation of ``absolutism'' in action -- continent-wide but centred on a detailed comparison of France and England -- dissolves the traditional picture to reveal a much more complex reality; and in so doing illuminates the varied ways in which early-modern Europe was governed.</p> Introduction; Chapter One Valois and Early Bourbons; Chapter Two Louis XIV Reassessed; Chapter Three A Highroad to Revolution?; Chapter Four France and England: Absolutism Versus Limited Monarchy?; Chapter Five France and England: Absolutism Versus Parliamentary Liberties?; Chapter Six A Theory of Absolutism?; Chapter Seven Royal Prerogatives and their Context; Chapter Eight Liberties and Consent; Chapter Nine Life Cycle of a Myth;