An Infinite History: The Story of a Family in France over Three Centuries

Marie Aymard, an illiterate widow from Angoulême, made her mark on history in 1764 with a power of attorney and prenuptial contract. This book explores an extended family over five generations, revealing a panoramic view of social and family networks, emigration, immobility, the French Revolution, and the transformation of nineteenth-century economic life. Rothschild uses new technologies and local archives to demonstrate how the ordinary lives of one family can constitute a remarkable record of deep social and economic changes.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 464 pages
Publication date: 27 September 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press

In the small provincial town of Angoulême in southwestern France, Marie Aymard, an illiterate widow, lived a life where it seemed that nothing ever happened. However, in 1764, she made a fleeting mark on the historical record through two documents: a power of attorney concerning her late husband's property, 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 these people? And why were they gathered together on a dark afternoon in December 1764?

An Infinite History, written by Emma Rothschild, offers a panoramic view of an extended family spanning five generations. Through ninety-eight interconnected stories about curious and sociable individuals, the book concludes with Marie Aymard's great-great granddaughter, Emma Rothschild, in 1906. Rothschild unravels an innovative modern history of social and family networks, emigration, immobility, the French Revolution, and the transformation of nineteenth-century economic life.

Rothschild weaves a vast narrative reminiscent of a period novel, exploring a large, obscure family whose members traveled to Syria, Mexico, and Tahiti, and whose destinies were profoundly unequal, ranging from a seamstress living in poverty in Paris to her third cousin, the cardinal of Algiers. She not only relies on discoveries in local archives but also employs new technologies, such as 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 reveal profound insights into the history of France and beyond. By examining the experiences of Marie Aymard and her descendants, Rothschild sheds light on the social, economic, and cultural changes that shaped their lives and the world around them. This book is a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of exploring the hidden histories that lie within our families and communities.

Weight: 740g
Dimension: 155 x 230 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691208183