In Pursuit of the People - by J Wardhaugh Hardcover

Book Synopsis

The first comparative study of how the French Popular Front and its right-wing opponents transformed the masses into the people, whether in demonstrations and festivals, or theatre and film. Seven chapters examine the representation of the crowd, workers, electorate, nation and symbolic community, exploring parallels between left and right.

Review Quotes

'A new and exciting cultural history of the political staging of 'the people' by left and right in 1930s France. The best thing to come out on the Popular Front in English since Julian Jackson.'

- Robert Gildea, Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK

'This important and innovative book redraws the historical map for understanding the nature of politics in France in the 1930s. By putting representations of the people at the centre of our attention, the author uncovers the common ground that united the extremes of left and right. It is one of the most important books to be published on 1930s France in recent decades.'

- Martin Conway, Balliol College, University of Oxford, UK

About the Author

JESSICA WARDHAUGH (née Irons) is Junior Research Fellow in French History at Christ Church, University of Oxford, UK. She has edited one book; Paris and the Right in the Twentieth Century, and has prublished articles on street politics, popular theatre, and the intellectuals of Europe, Revue Mensuelle.