Sheridan, Geraldine (1980) The life and works of Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy 1674-1755. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis endeavours to establish the facts concerning the life of
the abbe Lenglet, based on archival, manuscript and printed evidence:
his socio-economic background, his chequered 'political' career, his
abortive attempts at integration into the church establishment, his
many clashes with the royal administration and the resulting numerous
periods of imprisonment. It shows how books were, from the early years,
a major preoccupation in his life, whether as librarian and book-trader,
or bibliographer, editor and author.
Having failed to secure a living through either state or church, the
abbe's publishing activities became the principle, though never the
sole preoccupation of his life. A documented study of the redaction
and publication of each of Lenglet's works and editions, and the public
response which greeted them, is complemented by a detailed analytical
bibliography which adds to our understanding of the material conditions
pertaining to the dissemination of ideas in the first half of the
eighteenth century.
The thesis concludes that the abbe Lenglet's character was deeply
marked by inconsistency, dishonesty and cynicism, and that these traits
seriously affected the quality of his work. But, at the same time,
he was an erudite and enterprising bibliographer, and he had a bold,
consistently critical, and sometimes original mind. Thanks to these
latter qualities, coupled with an often foolhardy disregara for
authority, he wrote or edited a number of important and influential
works. In this he was actively helped and encouraged by more 'respectable'
scholars, members of the robe class and close to the royal
administration, who would not themselves risk any open association
with the publication of 'subversive' material; their atttiude to the
abbe was highly ambiguous. He was also responsible for popularising,
sometimes in a regrettably adulterated form, the works of greater
writers. Though he lacked the ability of a major original author,
he nonetheless made a significant contribution to the literature of
the period. Moreover, the study of such a secondary figure adds a
new, and perhaps indispensable dimension to our understanding of the
social and intellectual climate of the eighteenth century.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Lenglet Dufresnoy, Nicolas, 1674-1755
Official Date:	December 1980
Dates:	Date Event December 1980 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of French Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Coe, Richard N.
Extent:	671 p.
Language:	eng

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