French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Bolduc, La Fête imprimée - Spectacles et cérémonies politiques (1549-1662)
Theatre and Performance
Benoît Bolduc
La Fête imprimée - Spectacles et cérémonies politiques (1549-1662)
Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. Lire le XVIIe siècle, 2016
EAN: 9782406056799
391 pages
Price: €38
By analyzing the editorial, textual, and iconographic strategies behind the publication of five major political festivities held in Paris during the 16th and 17th centuries, this study demonstrates how the festival book transforms the reader into an ideal spectator.
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An article discussing this book can be read on nonfiction.fr:
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, political ceremonies and public spectacles in Europe served as tools of statecraft and royal representation. To extend the reach of these ephemeral events, printers and authorities produced specialized festival books that combined text and imagery. In La Fête imprimée, Benoît Bolduc examines this phenomenon by focusing on five major political festivities held in Paris between 1549 and 1662.
By analyzing the editorial, textual, and iconographic strategies behind these publications, the study demonstrates how the festival book transforms the reader into an ideal spectator. Readers interested in the history of print, early modern French political culture, or the intersection of literature and performance may find this study relevant.