Now in paperback, an award-winning look at French salons and the women who presided over them In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, between the reign of Louis XIII and the Revolution, French aristocratic society developed an art of living based on a refined code of good manners. Conversation, which began as a way of passing time, eventually became the central ritual of social life. In the salons, freed from the rigidity of court life, it was women who dictated the rules and presided over exchanges among socialites, writers, theologians, and statesmen. They contributed decisively to the development of the modern French language, new literary forms, and debates over philosophical and scientific ideas. With a cast of characters both famous and unknown, ranging from the Marquise de Rambouillet to Madame de Sta‘l, and including figures like Ninon de Lenclos, the Marquise de Sevigne, and Madame de Lafayette, as well as Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Diderot, and Voltaire, Benedetta Craveri traces the history of this worldly society that carried the art of sociability to its supreme perfection–and ultimately helped bring on the Revolution that swept it all away.

An engaging look at how technology is undermining our creativity and relationships and how face-to-face conversation can help us get it back.

"In what began as a half dare, the editors ... challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one page--400 words--on the topic of 'conversation.' The resulting book, The age of conversation, brings together over 100 of the world's leading marketers, writers, thinkers, and creative innovators"--P. [4] of cover.

Communication and Mental Illness is a comprehensive and practical textbook written by a multidisciplinary group of experts in the field of mental health which will be of interest to all those interested in improving their understanding of individuals with mental illness. The book is divided into three parts. The first of these offers both student and experienced clinicians in the mental health field an improved theoretical knowledge of the methods of communication commonly adopted by individuals with a variety of diagnoses of mental illness. It also provides practical suggestions of how this information can improve the individual professional's management of patients. Part Two looks at how information about communication in mental illness can influence service provision, ending with suggestions for future policy and practice. Communication and Mental Illness concludes with a final part describing the state of current research into different facets of communication and mental illness, offering an insight into the variety of research methodology and points of interest to those involved in the field.