3.0
A People's History of the French Revolution
ByPublisher Description
Discover French history as you’ve never read it before in this bold account of the French Revolution from the perspective of the lower classes.
This blow-by-blow narrative busts pervasive myths and reveals how the French Revolution shaped the Western world.
The assault on the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, Danton mocking his executioner, Robespierre dispensing a fearful justice, and the archetypal gadfly Marat—the events and figures of the French Revolution have exercised a hold on the historical imagination for more than 200 years. It has been a template for heroic insurrection and, to more conservative minds, a cautionary tale.
In the hands of Eric Hazan, author of The Invention of Paris, the revolution becomes a rational and pure struggle for emancipation. In this new history, the first significant account of the French Revolution in over twenty years, Hazan maintains that it fundamentally changed the Western world—for the better.
Looking at history from the bottom up, providing an account of working people and peasants, Hazan asks, how did they see their opportunities? What were they fighting for? What was the Terror and could it be justified? And how was the revolution stopped in its tracks? Hazen offers a vivid retelling of events, bringing them to life with a multitude of voices. Only through the people can we fully understand the legacy of French Revolution.
This blow-by-blow narrative busts pervasive myths and reveals how the French Revolution shaped the Western world.
The assault on the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, Danton mocking his executioner, Robespierre dispensing a fearful justice, and the archetypal gadfly Marat—the events and figures of the French Revolution have exercised a hold on the historical imagination for more than 200 years. It has been a template for heroic insurrection and, to more conservative minds, a cautionary tale.
In the hands of Eric Hazan, author of The Invention of Paris, the revolution becomes a rational and pure struggle for emancipation. In this new history, the first significant account of the French Revolution in over twenty years, Hazan maintains that it fundamentally changed the Western world—for the better.
Looking at history from the bottom up, providing an account of working people and peasants, Hazan asks, how did they see their opportunities? What were they fighting for? What was the Terror and could it be justified? And how was the revolution stopped in its tracks? Hazen offers a vivid retelling of events, bringing them to life with a multitude of voices. Only through the people can we fully understand the legacy of French Revolution.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesA People's History of the French Revolution Reviews
3.0
“All I can say is that this book took me a few months to get through.
It was well structured, and honestly I think it was my own fault for not liking it. I’ve always been interested in learning of the French Revolution. I found a love for the American Revolution, so I thought the French one would be pretty interesting to read about.
Maybe this book wasn’t made for an introduction. I found it at a bookshop, and seeing as I had no idea if it was good for beginners, I just read it. (I typically avoid reading reviews beforehand, or even looking up things about books.)
The book simply just assumes you know people already. I, having not learnt about the French Revolution in history class, barely knew who anyone was. I know the basics. Lafayette (due to prior knowledge on the American Revolution), Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI.. but that was it. I’d heard the names Robespierre and Saint-Just in passing, but I had no idea who they were.
It was quite a dense read, but I felt liberated once I finished it. I struggled keeping track of the several organisations and groups to the point I felt a little out of the loop. The author just threw in random french words. And me, not having access to google translate whilst I read, just sorta had to try and guess. It.. didn’t really work.
I might read about Robespierre at some point though. I got a little too excited whenever he was mentioned, cuz he was maybe the only one whose name I could actually remember properly. I had no idea what was going on. Apparently Robespierre is some sort of dictator? Didn’t catch that at all. The terror thing was pretty bad of him, but honestly he was pretty good at convincing me. Maybe i’m easily manipulated lol.
Felt pretty upset when I heard about his death. I should probably read more about him, because I have a feeling I shouldn’t actually like Robespierre. My next objective is to read about him so that I don’t end up liking a guy who may be a terrible person.”
“Fantastic overview of the french revolution. Hazan unties the knot to show just how complicated, how back and forth, how contradictory it all was. Certainly a lot of names and dates and can be somewhat overwhelming but enjoyable read nontheless”
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