The Oxford History of the French Revolution |
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The Oxford History of the French Revolution
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by William Doyle
Sales Rank: 63881
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List Price: $21.95
$21.95
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on 6-16-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 496 pages
Published by: Oxford University Press, USAEdition: 2nd Edition August 28, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 019925298X
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0199252985
Book Dimensions:
7.7 x 5 x 1.3 inches
Weighs: 14.1 ounces
Product Review
`Review from previous edition . . . an outstanding model of clarity and informed scholarship.' Simon Schama, New Republic
`Doyle's book, in its readability, its clarity and its balance, is certainly the best of the general studies of the Revolution that have recently appeared; it will appeal both to the general reader and to the historian. And it deals with the subject, rather than with those who have already written about it.' Richard Griffiths, Times Higher Educational Supplement
`. . . a work of breath-taking range which deserves to reach a wide popular market. It is the fullest history to appear of the Revolutionary era, of the events preceding it and of its impact on a wider world. Masterfully written.' The Observer
`He writes lucidly and gracefully, with balance and good judgement . . . offers valuable insights into the shadows that the Revolution cast across the century that followed it.' Philip Zeigler, Weekend Telegraph
`Doyle has produced a wonderfully lucid, authoritative and balanced history, ornamented with all the scholarly apparatus one would expect from an Oxford history.' Linda Colley, London Review of Books
`. . . great narrative history.' Spectator
`. . . first-rate synthesis . . . The strengths of the book are its firm narrative thread, its measured tone and the extraordinary distillation of knowledge contained in each chapter. The author's familiarity with ongoing research in the field of French revolutionary history is nearly total; the fruits of many historians' labours are deftly summarised, received opinions modified, alternative judgments formulated. In terms of sheer coverage, the book is difficult to fault. Not only is the life of revolutionary France captured in these pages, but that of much of Europe as well.' New Statesman
`efficient book . . . William Doyle's account of the course of the Revolution is solid and up-to-date, and will make an great textbook.' Norman Stone, Sunday Times
`For readers who need a fairly brisk, non-digressive account of events after the accession of Louis XVI up to Napoleon and the peace of Amiens in 1802, this compact book, by the professor and chairman of the school of history at Bristol University, is the answer.' Anthony Curtis, Financial Times
`. . . an great text for the early part of the Revolution.' London Evening Standard
Product Description
This second edition of the most authoritative and comprehensive history of the French Revolution draws on a wealth of new research in order to reassess the greatest of all revolutions. It includes a generous chronology of events and an extended bibliographical essay providing an examination of
the historiography of the Revolution. Beginning with the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, leading historian William Doyle traces the history of France through revolution, terror, and counter-terror, to the triumph of Napoleon in 1802, along the way analyzing the impact of these events in France upon
the rest of Europe. He explores how a movement which began with optimism and general enthusiasm soon became a tragedy, not only for the ruling orders, but for millions of ordinary people all over Europe who paid the price for the destruction of the old political order and the struggle to establish a
new one.
Highly readable and meticulously researched, The Oxford History of the French Revolution will provide new insight into one of the most important events in European history.
Reader Reviews
The French Revolution is one of the most important events in modern history, went on for the better part of a decade, involved a large number of significant personages, has complex political, social, economic, and ideological dimensions, has generated a huge literature, and interpretation has been controversial often. This list gives an idea of the challenges involved in producing a good one volume overview. Despite these obstacles, William Doyle succeeds with a lucid and enjoyable book that seems not to neglect any important areas and is generally evenhanded in dealing with controversial issues. Doyle presents the Revolution as a highly contingent event precipitated by the fiscal collapse of the French Monarchy, exacerbated by recent history of economic difficulties due to irregular and often poor harvests in France in the decade prior to the Revolution. Doyle is very good also on the long term trends - the increasing size of the bourgeosie, the rising literacy and importance of public opinion, the Enlightenment influenced disillusion with the sometimes arbitrary nature of traditional government - that set the stage for the Revolution and had a large effect on its outcomes. Still, Doyle's emphasis is on the basis narrative and he does very well in telling the story of the Revolution without either getting too bogged down in details or sliding over important issues. I recommend, however, that the first half of this book be read in conjunction with Doyle's concise (about 200 pages in a paperback edition) book on the Origins of the French Revolution. There is some redundancy in the narrative when reading both books but the Origins book stresses the underlying structural features in a complementary manner. Doyle goes on with a sustained narrative to Napoleon's seizure of power. Doyle covers very well the achievements and common disastrous mistakes of the Revolutionary period. Some of these mistakes, like the disastrously mistaken policies towards the Catholic Church, were responsible for generating implacable hostility, both within and outside France, to the Revolution. A consistent theme is that war against internal and external enemies was a powerful radicalizing force, often responsible for many of the serious errors and crimes of the Revolution. Many sections are excellent; his discussion of revolutionary imperialism, for example, nicely explores the apparent paradox of a liberation movement becoming a ruthless exploiter. Doyle's description of the oscillations of the Revolution and the corrupt behavior of the last Revolutionary government, the Directory, give a very good sense of why so many people must have welcomed the dictatorship of Napoleon. Doyle concludes with an interpretative chapter on the Revolution. In common with many recent historians, he sees the Revolution as a social disaster precipitated by good intentions. Among other causes, he cites the overconfidence of the original revolutionaries that they could remake society on rational grounds. This is both conventional and contains a lot of truth. For example, the attack on the Church essentially destroyed France's largest educational institution and its largest source of poor relief, both with severe adverse consequences. Doyle doesn't mention, however, that the Revolution engendered (largely under Napoleon) educational institutions that made French science and mathematics the world leader well into the 19th century. It is also possible to argue that one of the defects of the initial revolutionaries was not that they were too radical but that in important domains they weren't radical enough. In finance, the Revolution maintained the traditional French aversion to a strong state central bank like the Bank of England, something that might have mitigated the financial problems of the revolutionary governments. In the newly founded USA, the first Bank of the United States did play an important role in putting our governments on a firm footing. In religion, the initial revolutionaries attempted to rationalize and democratize the Church, with disastrous consequences. But, they wished to maintain a state sponsored Church, another traditional French approach. What if they had taken the really radical step of disestablishing religion and simply left religous practice alone? In summary, this is an excellent book to begin study of the French Revolution.
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The Oxford History of the French Revolution
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