Friday, May 7, 2021

The Friday 56 (199) & Book Beginnings: Aristocracy by William Doyle

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE


Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


Synopsis from Goodreads...

Aristocracies or nobilities dominated the social, economic, and institutional history of all European counties until only a few generations ago. The relics of their power, in traditions and behavior, in architecture and the arts, are still all around us. This engaging Very Short Introduction shows how ideas of aristocracy originated in ancient times, were transformed in the middle ages, and have only fallen apart over the last two centuries, following the outbreak of the American and French Revolutions. William Doyle, an authority on eighteen-century European history, here strips away the myths in which aristocracies have always sought to shroud themselves, but he also astutely delineates the true sources of their enduring power. Their outlook and behavior affected the rest of society in innumerable and sometimes surprising ways, but perhaps most surprising was the way in which the centuries-old aristocratic hegemony crumbled away. In this Very Short Introduction William Doyle considers why this happened and what is left today.

Beginning: "We use the words aristocracy and aristocratic all the time."

56: "Nobility is a tissue of minute differences lovingly treasured, each one affording grounds for a sense of superiority of inferiority."


Comments: Aristocracy was an interesting read, and I plan on eventually reading a few more titles from this series. What are you reading this week?

20 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting book. Is the series titled Very Short Introduction? This week I am spotlighting A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver from my review stack. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was an interesting read. And yes, the series is called A Very Short Introduction. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. Great excerpts! Now I want to know more. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds very interesting! Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds very intriguing. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a great read, and I learned some stuff from it. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Sounds like an important read--one that will help readers understand how society has evolved to it current state.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like an interesting book.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This book must be part of a series. I recognize the cover from a book I had in my library by a different title. It is a good way to get information in a shorter format. My book is The Girl with the Louding Voice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is part of a series, and there are a lot of them too. There are almost too many subjects to choose from. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. I'm not aware of this series, but they sound like important books. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This sounds interesting! I imagine it provides a good foundation for understanding why things were done the way they were for so long--and how that still impacts us today. I am glad to hear you enjoyed this one. I hope you have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's actually what I took away from the book. Thanks for stopping by! :-)

      Delete

Comments are appreciated and always welcome. :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...