By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a common conviction that books were a means of spreading progress and enlightenment. Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule.

Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a French novelist, declared that the printing press was the most powerful engine of progress and that public opinion would sweep despotism away. He proclaimed that tyrants should tremble before the virtual writer, as reading transformed people and made them enlightened.

Print popularised the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau. Their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition and despotism. They argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state.

Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms and institutions were re-evaluated by a public that recognised the need to question existing ideas. Within this culture, new ideas of social revolution emerged.

By the 1780s, literature that mocked the royalty and criticised their morality circulated underground. This raised questions about the existing social order and led to hostile sentiments against the monarchy.