Liberty in Their Names - by Sandrine Bergès (Hardcover)

About the Book

Telling the story of three overlooked revolutionary thinkers, Liberty in Their Names explores the lives and works of Olympe de Gouges, Sophie de Grouchy and Manon Roland. All three were thinking and writing about political philosophy, especially equality and social justice, before the French Revolution. As they became engaged in its efforts, their political writing became more urgent. At a time when women could neither vote nor speak at the Assembly, they became influential through their writings.

Book Synopsis

Telling the story of three overlooked revolutionary thinkers, Liberty in Their Names explores the lives and works of Olympe de Gouges, Sophie de Grouchy and Manon Roland. All three were thinking and writing about political philosophy, especially equality and social justice, before the French Revolution. As they became engaged in its efforts, their political writing became more urgent. At a time when women could neither vote nor speak at the Assembly, they became influential through their writings. Yet instead of Gouges, Grouchy and Roland, we speak of Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot.

Sandrine Bergès examines the lives and writings of these trailblazing women philosophers, and their impact on philosophical thought during the French Revolution. Featuring pictures, a timeline and a bibliography of their works, this book offers exciting new insights into the history of political philosophy and of the French Revolution.

Review Quotes

Imaginative, instructive, and engaging, Liberty in their names lifts Olympe de Gouges, Marie-Jeanne Roland and Sophie de Grouchy from under the historical carpet where they were swept despite their significant contributions to the social and political thought of the French Revolution.
Sylvana Tomaselli, Dr, St John's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom

This brilliant book fills an important need, shedding light on the female philosophers of the Revolutionary period in France. Berges sets the women in historical context while also exploring the brilliance of their ideas. An essential read that addresses a true gap in the history of ideas and women's history.
Charlotte Gordon, Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Endicott College, USA

About the Author

Sandrine Bergès is Professor of Philosophy at Bilkent University, Turkey. She is the author of The Routledge Guidebook to Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (2013) and co-editor of The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft (2018) and Women Philosophers on Autonomy (2018). She is the translator of Sophie de Grouchy's Letters on Sympathy (2019).