Born to Write: Literary Families and Social Hierarchy in Early Modern France

This is a study of both literary and intellectual history that emphasizes the social dimension of both to an unusual degree. It does two things that might modify how readers see the history of literature and also the history of ideas. First, it shows how those histories are embedded in class and it also shows that family was a driving force behind the production of many works of literature and learning in early modern France (and more broadly Europe). These two emphases, on class and on family, are deeply connected, because social hierarchy was underpinned by family.