The Days of the French Revolution

Read this and Thomas Carlyles book on the french revolution and you will probably know more about it than 99 percent of people living. This book reads like a historical thriller and the author takes care that you can follow along if you are unfamiliar with the material. Also. The french revolution was a disgrace.

I also feel I must counterbalance the negative review below. I strongly recommend this book as a good and readable overview of the French Revolution. Mr. Hibbert is a wonderful writer. He brings history to life by finding the human element in a story, by giving us interesting details about the people involved, instead of just reciting dates and events and providing dry analysis. I also highly recommend his book Redcoats and Rebels, which tells the story of the American Revolution with emphasis on the British point of view.

I wanted to read about the French Revolution, and began with "Citizens," by Simon Schama. It is a fine book, but I got bogged down in the details, and was losing the essence of the events. 300 pages in, and still going through the details of the economic environment, I put down "Citizens" and picked up Hibbert's book. It was beautifully written, and quite consistent with the highly-academic "Citizens." But, frankly, Hibbert was much more enjoyable to read. A note to those who are not adverse to detailed history: Schama has many favorable reviews on this site, and well-deserved. But you might want to start with Hibbert, then go to Schama, with LeFebvre's slim work as a side read.

Well written and concise history of the French Revolution that is equipped with appendices that includes a summary of the individuals that have roles in the revolution, definitions of key French terminology predominately political and a time chart that outlines the revolution's history. Quite a fascinating story of the rise of the third estate against the monarchy, the nobles and clergy which had its roots in the downward turn of the economy (partly due to the cost of the war against England during America's war of independence) and the burden of the poor to pay most of the taxes while owning little land. The sheer violence and grotesqueness of the revolution is astonishing as political groups seem to rise and fall not only against the monarchists but continuously over the lengthy period of the revolution with and against various feuding political parties. There seems to be endless purges oddly each supported enthusiastically by the masses in the streets. At times the fear of death is attached to everyone as political shifts occur at astonishing speed over the possible return of the monarchists and outside military powers, which causes extraordinary panic, and just through political differences among the leadership. The deaths of the poorly leadership equipped Louis XVI and his Queen Antoinette are well described and almost symbolic of the many individuals executed for political reasons and the many innocents who were simply accused without regard to a fair trial. Amazing how so called patriots could be aligned to organize a new constitution only to later compete for power at the expense of the life of their former colleagues.The revolution according to the author seems to cycle into periodic periods of controlled political organization then to despotic periods of terror that seems to reach its peak with the politically self consumed and self important Robespierre whose insensitive annihilation of his political competition back fires when his own out of control ego and vague threats to the assembly make every man feel threatened hastening his own rapid and violent demise with a trip to the guillotine. This exhaustive cycle of control supplanted by terror opens the door for a strong willed military despot as the author's final two chapters cover the entrance of Napoleon into the national spotlight. One can see that the general population would welcome any sustained order. I only wish the author spent a little more time explaining how the political mobs could be so violent to literally tear people apart, purposely soak themselves in the blood of their victims and readily kill anyone violently just by mere association. Understanding that lacking the means to eat was certainly part of it plus the heavy tax burden on the poor, but the extent of the violence is shocking as well as the continuous applause of the crowds as the various losers of political power take their trips in carts to the guillotine.

It's been over thirty years since I was in high school, and I failed to pay attention in the French History classes. In anticipation of an upcoming Paris vacation, I thought I would brush up on my history, but was reluctant to do so, as my experience with history books indicated that few things are as dry. Mr. Hibbert was a startling exception; he tells a stirring story that was hard to put down. My trip to Paris will be ever so much more meaningful. If you have any interest whatsoever in the French Revoulution, this is the place to start. If you need a basic understanding, then this is the book to turn to.