Bergin, Joseph. Church, Society, and Religious Change in France, 1580–1730. 2009. A study of changing religious views in France from the wars of religion to the Enlightenment and the interaction of church and society.
Bongie, Laurence L. From Rogue to Everyman: A Foundling’s Journey to the Bastille. 2005. The story of an eighteenth-century orphan and, through his eyes, the Parisian underworld of gamblers, prostitutes, and police spies.
Burke, Peter. Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe, 3d ed. 2009. An updated version of a classic introduction to everyday life, mentalities, and leisure pursuits.
Carrell, Jennifer. The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox. 2003. A lively popular account of the spread of inoculation.
Crawford, Katherine. European Sexualities, 1400–1800. 2007. A broad survey of cultural and social aspects of sex and sexuality in early modern Europe.
Gawthrop, Richard. Pietism and the Making of Eighteenth-Century Prussia. 2006. An examination of the importance of Pietist morality and institutions in the making of the Prussian state.
Gelbart, Nina. The King’s Midwife: A History and Mystery of Madame du Coudray. 2002. A vivid and accessible biography of the most famous midwife of eighteenth-century France.
Harrington, Joel. The Unwanted Child: The Fate of Foundlings, Orphans, and Juvenile Criminals in Early Modern Germany. 2009. Examines the fate of abandoned, orphaned, and delinquent children through the life stories of five individuals.
Kertzer, David I., and Marzio Barbagli, eds. Family Life in Early Modern Times, 1500–1789. 2001. A rich collection of essays on the history of the family, women, and children in early modern Europe.
Mintz, Sidney W. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. 1985. A fascinating exploration of the shifting cultural significance of sugar and its transformation from elite luxury good to everyday staple.
Trentman, Frank, ed. The Oxford Handbook of the History of Consumption. 2012. A series of essays presenting the most recent research on the history of consumption, including global perspectives.
DOCUMENTARIES
At Home with the Georgians (BBC, 2011). A documentary examining the new domestic ideals of the eighteenth century, with re-enactments of daily life in British homes in all ranks of society.
FEATURE FILMS AND TELEVISION
Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975). The adventures of an eighteenth-century Irish rogue who marries a rich widow.
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel (Edouard Molinaro, 1996). The story of French playwright Beaumarchais and his numerous romantic escapades in eighteenth-century Paris.
City of Vice (Channel 4, 2008). A British crime series focusing on Henry Fielding, the eighteenth-century writer and magistrate who founded the first police force of London, the Bow Street Runners.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (PBS, 1996). A lively Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s famous novel recounting an orphaned girl’s struggle to survive in eighteenth-century London.
WEB SITES
18th Century Blog: Fashion and Culture from the 1700s. A blog devoted to the clothing, art, and literature of eighteenth-century Europe, with reviews of books and historical films and links to other relevant blogs and Web sites. 18thcenturyblog.com/
Colonial Williamsburg. Click on “Coffeehouse” for a set of short videos that document the archaeological excavation of a mid-eighteenth-century coffeehouse at Colonial Williamsburg and that show re-enactments of life in the coffeehouse. www.history.org/media/videoPlayer/index.cfm
London Lives. A collection of almost 250,000 searchable digitized primary sources about ordinary people in eighteenth-century London, including criminal trials, hospital records, and other documents. www.londonlives.org/static/Project.jsp