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Contrary to arguments that claim the Revolution bound women within a domestic sphere, The Family on Trial maintains that the new civil laws and gender politics offered many women unexpected opportunities to gain power, property, or independence."--Jacket.

"This is a carefully crafted piece of social history that broadly revises widely held preconceptions about ideological currents in the French Revolution. The issues it raises go beyond those that might appeal only to specialists in communal action and religion; historical sociologists and sociologists of culture will also find this to be an important and provocative study."--American Journal of Sociology

The 25 years between the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Bourbon Restoration after Napoleon in 1814 is an astonishing period in world history. Learn the full story of this era that shook the foundations of the old world and marked a permanent shift for politics, religion, and society-not just for France, but for all of Europe.

Challenges many assumptions about gender & politics in the French Revolution. Offers an insightful analysis of the ways the Revolution radically redefined the family & its internal dynamics. Shows how revolutionary politics & laws brought about a social revolution within households & created space for thousands of French women & men to re-imagine their most intimate relationships. Families negotiated new social practices, including divorce, the reduction of paternal authority, egalitarian inheritance for sons & daughters alike, & the granting of civil rights to illegitimate children. New civil laws & gender politics offered many women unexpected opportunities to gain power, property, or independence. Illustrations.

Suzanne Fields is a nationally syndicated opinion columnist for Creators Syndicate. This is a collection of the very best of Suzanne Fields from 2014.