Description

On 13 February 1820 the Duke of Berry, the only Bourbon prince capable of siring an heir, was assassinated. Seven months later the Duchess of Berry gave birth to a boy, the Duke of Bordeaux, and the Bourbon lineage was saved. The boy was immediately nicknamed the miracle child. The Duke's assassination and the birth of his son gave rise to the Royalist Reaction of 1820, a ten-month period that forever altered France's political landscape.This story provides the backdrop for David Skuy's analysis of the Royalist Reaction and its place in the history of the French Restoration. He argues that the Royalist Reaction was the product of two divergent forces: historical echoes of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire and the psychological consequences of the assassination and the miracle child. Skuy discusses Restoration political theory and the development of modern political parties. He follows the strategems of anti-royalist extremists and details the complexities that characterized the royal court and parliament. Skuy also reveals how these events triggered a popular Royalist Reaction that changed millions of French citizens from passive observers into ardent royalists.