"This book connects the story of a group of migrant workers to the question of why Paris became the nineteenth century's "capital of revolution," and why this stage of the city's history ended. The stonemasons were well-known for their skills, their seasonal migration from central France, but especially for their role in rebellion. They were set apart by a persistent reputation tying them to the city's tumultuous legacy and to a physical location - the Place de Greve - where they sought jobs. Parisians and police saw the masons as part of the "dangerous classes," while to bosses they were considered "docile." The frequency with which the stonemasons were arrested following political unrest had no precedent. This analysis is the only one that places the masons' story within the larger history of nineteenth-century Paris. The coverage spans the long nineteenth century, starting before 1789 and ending near 1914."--book jacket.