French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Lilti, Figures publiques. Célébrité et modernité (1750-1850)
History, Politics and Society
Bibliographic reference: A. Lilti, Figures publiques. Célébrité et modernité (1750-1850), Fayard, collection "L'épreuve de l'histoire", 2014. EAN13: 9782213682389.
Antoine Lilti
Public Figures: Celebrity and Modernity (1750-1850)
Paris: Fayard, "L'épreuve de l'Histoire", 2014
EAN: 9782213682389
400 p. / 153 x 235 mm
24.00 EUR
Publisher's overview:
Long before cinema, tabloid journalism, and television, the mechanics of celebrity took root in Enlightenment Europe before fully blossoming during the Romantic era on both sides of the Atlantic. Writers like Voltaire, actors like Garrick, and musicians like Liszt became true celebrities, sparking the intense curiosity and passionate devotion of their "fans." In Paris and London, and later in Berlin and New York, the rise of the press, innovative advertising techniques, and the commercialization of leisure profoundly transformed the visibility of public figures. People could now purchase portraits of opera singers and biographies of courtesans, whose private lives became a form of public spectacle. Politics did not remain untouched by this cultural upheaval: Marie Antoinette, George Washington, and Napoleon all witnessed a political landscape reshaped by the new demands of celebrity. When the common people burst onto the revolutionary stage, legitimacy was no longer enough—popularity became essential.
Through this history of celebrity, Antoine Lilti traces the profound transformations of Enlightenment society and exposes the ambiguities of the public sphere. The trajectory of Jean-Jacques Rousseau serves as a striking case in point. A celebrated and adored writer, he ultimately came to curse the effects of his "fatal celebrity," consumed by the feeling of having become a public figure whom anyone could mold to their liking. Simultaneously desired and denounced, celebrity emerges as the modern form of personal prestige tailored to democratic and media-driven societies, much as glory was to aristocratic ones. Yet it remains a perpetually contested greatness, the history of which illuminates the contradictions of our modernity.
Antoine Lilti is a Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. His research focuses on the social and cultural history of the Enlightenment. His publications include Le Monde des salons. Sociabilité et mondanité à Paris au xviiie siècle (Fayard, 2005).
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An article discussing this book can be read or downloaded on the laviedesidees.fr website:
The Birth of the Star System, by David A. Bell & translated by Arianne Dorval, published online March 4, 2015.
Translated with the support of the Institut Français
Many lament the triumph of celebrity culture over civic culture. But was it really better in the past? Antoine Lilti’s brilliant book demonstrates that modern celebrity culture was born in the age of revolutions, alongside the emergence of new notions of individuality and personal authenticity.
Published in the Fayard collection L'épreuve de l'histoire, this study investigates the historical roots of the star system from the Enlightenment through the Romantic era. Antoine Lilti traces how the rise of the press, commercialized leisure, and new advertising techniques transformed visibility in European and transatlantic cultural capitals. Figures ranging from Voltaire and David Garrick to Marie Antoinette and Napoleon illustrate a profound political and cultural upheaval, where traditional legitimacy increasingly yielded to the new imperatives of public popularity and widespread media attention.
This work serves as a valuable resource for students and scholars of cultural history, sociology, and modern political life who seek to understand the genealogy of contemporary media culture. By analyzing the ambivalent reactions provoked by fame—exemplified by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's tortured relationship with his own renown—the book sheds light on the tensions between personal authenticity and public exposure. It addresses enduring questions regarding how democratic societies construct prestige, offering crucial historical perspective on the complex relationship between individuality, visibility, and modern politics.