CHRISTOPHER PRENDERGAST
Christopher Prendergast is a Professor Emeritus in French at the University of Cambridge. He is a life fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. He is a fellow of the British Academy and of the Academia Europaea, and also an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques.
His expertise is principally in various fields of French literature and cultural history, predominantly of the 19thand 20th centuries. Christopher has published over 18 books; these include books published by Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. His latest book, Counterfactuals: Paths of the Might Have Been was published early this year by Bloomsbury.
His book, The Two Julys, co-authored with Peter de Bolla, is being published by Cam Rivers Publishing soon.
BOOKS
The Two Julys
What significance is there to the Liberty Bell, Uncle Sam, the storming of the Bastille and the Guillotine? Icons and symbols of the two revolutions of the late 18th century – the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and the French Revolution of July 14, 1789 – have shaped and defined the character of democracy and civilisation in the West. They brought ideas of representation and standards of civil behaviour to the fore as well as enabling the skyrocketing economic growth of the 19th century. In this seminal piece, Cambridge University scholars Peter de Bolla and Christopher Prendergast delve head-first into the lineage, the stories and anecdotes and the trivia surrounding two of the most famous revolutions of the West. Readers are first acquainted with the real history of the 4th of July, as de Bolla traces the events of the Second Continental Congress, shedding light on the day-to-day events leading up to the Fourth. He then turns to examine the 247 years since the foundation of the United States of America, illustrating that the symbols of nationhood remain as strong as ever in the collective consciousness, binding 300 million people together at times of war, suffering, political upheaval and success. The second half of the book discusses the events of the 4th of July, including an almost minute-by-minute recount of how the Bastille was stormed. Prendergast illuminates the reality of the 14th, evaluating its political usefulness and explaining, once and for all, why the date remains so dear and important to the French even two centuries later. The Two Julys is a brilliantly written and riveting exposition of democracy, revolution and the importance of nationhood.