An Infinite History
Emma Rothschild
This audiobook narrated by Eve Matheson tells the story of social change in France through the experiences of a single extended family across five generations
Marie Aymard was an illiterate widow who lived in the provincial town of Angoulême in southwestern France, a place where seemingly nothing ever happened. Yet, in 1764, she made her fleeting mark on the historical record through two documents: a power of attorney in connection with the property of her late husband, a carpenter on the island of Grenada, and a prenuptial contract for her daughter, signed by eighty-three people in Angoulême. Who was Marie Aymard? Who were all these people? And why were they together on a dark afternoon in December 1764? Beginning with these questions, An Infinite History offers a panoramic look at an extended family over five generations. Through ninety-eight connected stories about inquisitive, sociable individuals, ending with Marie Aymard’s great-great granddaughter in 1906, Emma Rothschild unfurls an innovative modern history of social and family networks, emigration, immobility, the French revolution, and the transformation of nineteenth-century economic life.
Rothschild spins a vast narrative resembling a period novel, one that looks at a large, obscure family, of whom almost no private letters survive, whose members traveled to Syria, Mexico, and Tahiti, and whose destinies were profoundly unequal, from a seamstress living in poverty in Paris to her third cousin, the Cardinal of Algiers. Rothschild not only draws on discoveries in local archives but also uses new technologies, including the visualization of social networks, large-scale searches, and groundbreaking methods of genealogical research.
An Infinite History demonstrates how the ordinary lives of one family over three centuries can constitute a remarkable record of deep social and economic changes.
Duration - 13h.
Author - Emma Rothschild.
Narrator - Eve Matheson.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Description:
This audiobook narrated by Eve Matheson tells the story of social change in France through the experiences of a single extended family across five generations Marie Aymard was an illiterate widow who lived in the provincial town of Angoulême in southwestern France, a place where seemingly nothing ever happened. Yet, in 1764, she made her fleeting mark on the historical record through two documents: a power of attorney in connection with the property of her late husband, a carpenter on the island of Grenada, and a prenuptial contract for her daughter, signed by eighty-three people in Angoulême. Who was Marie Aymard? Who were all these people? And why were they together on a dark afternoon in December 1764? Beginning with these questions, An Infinite History offers a panoramic look at an extended family over five generations. Through ninety-eight connected stories about inquisitive, sociable individuals, ending with Marie Aymard’s great-great granddaughter in 1906, Emma Rothschild unfurls an innovative modern history of social and family networks, emigration, immobility, the French revolution, and the transformation of nineteenth-century economic life. Rothschild spins a vast narrative resembling a period novel, one that looks at a large, obscure family, of whom almost no private letters survive, whose members traveled to Syria, Mexico, and Tahiti, and whose destinies were profoundly unequal, from a seamstress living in poverty in Paris to her third cousin, the Cardinal of Algiers. Rothschild not only draws on discoveries in local archives but also uses new technologies, including the visualization of social networks, large-scale searches, and groundbreaking methods of genealogical research. An Infinite History demonstrates how the ordinary lives of one family over three centuries can constitute a remarkable record of deep social and economic changes. Duration - 13h. Author - Emma Rothschild. Narrator - Eve Matheson. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:32:47
Chapter 1: The World of Marie Aymard
Duration:00:45:14
Chapter 2: The Marriage Contract
Duration:01:07:34
Chapter 3: A Bird's-Eye View
Duration:01:16:40
Chapter 4: The First Revolution
Duration:01:23:39
Chapter 5: The French Revolution in Angoulême
Duration:01:37:19
Chapter 6: A Family in Changing Times
Duration:01:32:52
Chapter 7: Modern Lives
Duration:01:02:19
Chapter 8: Histories of Economic Life
Duration:00:47:36
Chapter 9: Family Capital
Duration:01:07:58
Chapter 10: Charles Martial and Louise
Duration:01:29:45
Chapter 11: The End of the Story
Duration:00:15:56
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:48