ANCIEN REGIME IN TURMOIL?
Commerce, Politics and Society in France, c.1682-1793

The Gazette Manuscrite, 1775-1793, and related sources from the John Rylands University Library of Manchester

This project brings together a variety of original manuscript sources from the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, dominated by the Gazette Manuscrite, a manuscript newsletter documenting the period 1775-1793.

The period before and during the French Revolution is brought to life in ten volumes of letters (over 1,150 in total) sent on weekly basis from Paris to Rennes. Most are addressed to Monsieur le Comte de Chauteaugiron, later Commandant de la garde nationale de Lavauz, or Citoyen René Le Prêtre, and his wife. Interleaved in the Gazette are letters from Brest, Lorient, Nantes, St Malo, Vannes, Lesneven, Paimboeuf and La Rochelle.

Additional sources include the Mélanges Littéraires, a wonderful collection of political and satirical verses and epitaphs, with chansons and copies of letters from Voltaire and Rousseau; as well as patriotic dialogues, letters from Mons and Liège, and records of the Comité Révolutionnaire.