Robert Darnton's 'Le Diable dans un Bénitier' Examines Libel in Pre-Revolutionary France

Historian Robert Darnton's book 'Le Diable dans un bénitier: L'art de la calomnie en France, 1650–1800' (published by Gallimard) analyzes the role of libelous pamphlets in shaping public opinion and undermining monarchical authority from Louis XV's reign through the Revolution. Darnton details how 'libelles'—poorly printed, scandalous booklets—used pornography, slander, and accusations of sexual deviance to attack the king, queen, and ministers. Works like 'Les Amours de Charlot et Toinette' mocked Louis XVI's impotence and Marie-Antoinette's libido. Darnton profiles key figures such as Beaumarchais (as a spy), Ange Goudar, and the Marquis de Pelleport, whose violent diatribes exemplify the genre. The book argues that this literary movement transitioned from entertainment under Louis XV to moralistic denunciation during the Revolution, culminating in the Terror. Darnton frames the pamphlets as precursors to Habermas's public sphere, where reading fostered individualized subjectivity and political critique. The volume also includes a preface and notes to Pelleport's 'Les Bohémiens' (1790).