Information and facts about the French Revolution

Online encyclopedia about the French Revolution

The beginning of the French Revolution

The storming, and subsequent take over of the Bastille, ushered the beginning of the French Revolution. No longer were the angry peasants defying local lords, but they were now striking at the symbolic heart of the monarchy. The Bastille, a hated emblem of control and domination, became the war cry for hundreds of thousands of scorned and maltreated revolutionaries.

he storming, and subsequent take over of the Bastille, ushered the beginning of the French Revolution. No longer were the angry peasants defying local lords, but they were now striking at the symbolic heart of the monarchy. The Bastille, a hated emblem of control and domination, became the war cry for hundreds of thousands of scorned and maltreated revolutionaries.

The storming, and subsequent take over of the Bastille, ushered the beginning of the French Revolution. No longer were the angry peasants defying local lords, but they were now striking at the symbolic heart of the monarchy. The Bastille, a hated emblem of control and domination, became the war cry for hundreds of thousands of scorned and maltreated revolutionaries.

Painting of the French Revolution

Battlefield in the French Revolution

Drawing of the execution of king Louis XVI

Christopher Hibbert's fine narrative about the French Revolution is an excellent way for the general reader to learn the essentials of the keystone event of modern European history. But for the French Revolution there would have been no Napoleon. But for the French Revolution there probably would never have been a Russian Revolution.

any relatively recent books on the French Revolution, such as Simon Schama's excellent CITIZENS, seem to presuppose a basic knowledge of the highlights and terms of the Revolution itself (the Tennis Court Oath, the Jacobins, Thermidor, etc.) but also of its aftermath (Louis XVIII and Charles X, Napoleon;s Egypt campaign, etc.). Doyle's book presupposes almost nothing, and lays out for the common reader not only a very clear and concise of the Revolution itself but also the ancien regime that preceded, and the restorations, republics, and empires that succeeded it. Best of all, it makes interesting claims in its introduction and conclusion as to why the Revolution mattered to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as an intellectual and political event, and even (for good measure) a coherent account of the battles raging among the Annales schools of historians in France up to the present day. Fine work, and a great introduction.

Professor Doyle captures the intricacies of France leading to the French Revolution. His piece can be somewhat dense in parts which further detracts from the subject when mixed with the several grammatical and spelling errors contained within. While the style and format could be improved, the book is filled with useful information.