The Emergence of Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century: A Privileged Moment in the History of England, Scotland, and France

"This is a stimulating book." —Choice

"... with its rich historical and cultural detail draws us again and again into the fine webs of everyday life that defined eighteenth-century society and the idea of civil society therein." —William and Mary Quarterly

In this sequel to Civility and Society in Western Europe, 1300-1600, Marvin Becker treats the rise of civil society in England and Scotland and the shift in human sociability from familiarity toward impersonality, from public toward private, from social solidarity toward self-interest.