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All the people who helped make this book possible are too numerous to name. I would like to thank all the archivists and librarians in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Rouen, Dijon, and Rennes who assisted me—and to give special mention to those at the Archives départementales de la Gironde, whose generous support went beyond all reasonable expectations. Special thanks are also due to the Interlibrary Loan Department at Brock University for patiently handling many orders and to the coordinator of the History Department, Heidi Klose, for technical assistance of all sorts. I am grateful to John Bosher for inspiring my interest in French institutional history and for guiding the early stages of this work. Some of the historians whose ideas pervade the book also answered many questions and gave advice : Roger Chartier, Robert Darnton, Albert Hamscher, Elizabeth Eisenstein, Raymond Birn, and Julian Swann. Many others offered their time, expertise, and moral support: Pierre Reynard, Alan Arthur, Howard Brown, Donald Sutherland, Raymonde Litalien, Jeremy Hayhoe, Thierry Rigogne, Stephen Auerbach, Stephen Clay, Eric Wauter, and Jacob Soll. My greatest debt is to Timothy Le Goff for his knowledge of eighteenth-century France and his willingness to pass it on. I would also like to express my gratitude to my friends and colleagues at Brock University for their help and encouragement over many years and to my editor Laura Reed-Morrisson for countless good suggestions.Research for this book was generously funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, by Brock University, and by Brock University’s Humanities Research Institute. Very warm and affectionate thanks go to my husband, Hans Hansen, and to our daughters, Madeleine and Alice. Acknowledgments ...

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