Funerals, Politics, and Memory in Modern France, 1789-1996 [Hardcover]

This is a study of the state funerals that were celebrated in France between the French revolution and the death of Fran?ois Mitterand. It investigates the funerals of such prominent figures as Voltaire, Napoleon, Gambetta, Hugo, and de Gaulle, which became major public events that helped to mold the national memory. The book is the first comprehensive analysis of French state funerals, and also a major contribution to the study of French political culture.

Funerals, Politics, and Memoryis a powerful contribution to the growing literature on rituals in modern French political culture. It is without a doubt one on of the better works in French cultural history to emerge in recent years, adding an entirely new layer of material to the merging literature on memory and civic festivals. Ben-Amos's account is always subtle and sensitive to the complexity of the material he is dealing with. --French Politics, Culture and Society

An ambitious book, both in its broad chronological range and in the issues that it addresses. --The Journal of Interdisciplinary History