Citizens: A Chronicle of The French Revolution
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Review
"Dazzling...stimulating...This is no ordinary book...Schama does not merely write brilliantly about people, about events, about the abuse of rhetoric, and about festivals and executions. He also chronicle with a dramatic burst of poetic imagination.... The virtues of this book Ýlie in the coruscating brilliance of dazzling display of erudition and intelligence ... His chronicle is, after all, a stunningly virtuoso performance." -- Lawrence Stone, "The New Republic"
"One of The Best Books Of The Decade." -- "Time"
"Monumental...a delight to read...Lively descriptions of major events, colorful cameos of leading characters (and obscure ones too), bring them to life here as no other general work has done....Above all, Mr. Schama tells a story, and he tells it well." -- "The New York Times Book Review"
"Citizens, like the great 19th-century narratives it emulates, makes entertainment and erudition work hand in hand....As no other recent historian of the revolution, Schama brings to life the excitement -- and harrowing terror -- of an epochal human event." -- "Newsweek"
"A fresh and elegant narrative...A brilliantly readable and beautifully illustrated account." -- "Washington Post Book World"
"We are in the hands of a master storyteller...Vivid, dramatic, thought-provoking...Schama's portrait of the revolution is often surprising...His splendid recounting convinces us that much of what we thought we knew is wrong." -- "Time"
"One of The Best Books Of The Decade." -- "Time"
"Monumental...a delight to read...Lively descriptions of major events, colorful cameos of leading characters (and obscure ones too), bring them to life here as no other general work has done....Above all, Mr. Schama tells a story, and he tells it well." -- "The New York Times Book Review"
"Citizens, like the great 19th-century narratives it emulates, makes entertainment and erudition work hand in hand....As no other recent historian of the revolution, Schama brings to life the excitement -- and harrowing terror -- of an epochal human event." -- "Newsweek"
"A fresh and elegant narrative...A brilliantly readable and beautifully illustrated account." -- "Washington Post Book World"
"We are in the hands of a master storyteller...Vivid, dramatic, thought-provoking...Schama's portrait of the revolution is often surprising...His splendid recounting convinces us that much of what we thought we knew is wrong." -- "Time"
"From the Trade Paperback edition."
Product Description
The most authoritative social, cultural and narrative history of the French Revolution, and one of the great landmarks of modern history publishing.
'Monumental...provocative and stylish, Simon Schama's account of the first few years of the great Revolution in France, and of the decades that led up to it, is thoughtful, informed and profoundly revisionist' Eugen Weber, The New York Times Book Review
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First Sentence
IN THE brilliant spring of 1778, Talleyrand went to pay his respects to Voltaire. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
IN THE brilliant spring of 1778, Talleyrand went to pay his respects to Voltaire. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Citizens is a truly wonderful example of narrative historical writing - a "tremendous performance", to borrow a favourite expression of Simon Schama. The author prefers a more old-fashioned interpretation of the French revolution, which presents the revolution as a drama and focuses on the characters that determine the unravelling of the plot. This choice provides the book with the memorable stories, such as the royal family's comically feckless flight from Paris in 1791, that make it such a delightful read. It is a liberating experience to find a general historical survey that does away with the conventional, stultifying analytical distinctions between economic, social and political factors. Instead, the reader can interact directly - as well as chronologically, which makes it easy to dip in and out of - with the actors and the events without having to navigate around tedious discussions of causal significance or complex arguments with other historians.
But it is the skill with which Schama recounts events like the fall of the Bastille that makes this book unique and easily the most enjoyable modern history of the revolution in English. The embellishing vocabulary (readers are advised to have a dictionary to hand), the recurring motifs (the revolutionary obsession with heads, whether on pikes or as busts) and the vivid build-up of tension are the true strengths of this so-called chronicle. It is perfect for the novice reader and the enlightened amateur alike. Citizens demands re-reading for the richness of its description to be fully appreciated, especially its masterful reconstruction of the fascinating and sometimes disturbing culture of the old regime, which is probably the most accessible that exists. The only disappointment is that it ends with Thermidor, in 1794. After 800 pages, one is still hoping for more, which is the highest recommendation possible for this genre of historical writing.
40 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is essential reading for anyone interested in France, history and the Enlightenment, - exactly how much light was brought to mankind by the cast behind the French Revolution of 1789? And,conversely, how dark was the ancien régime really? All the answers in this immensely readable book. If you can only read one book about the crucial moment of European history, this is the one.
73 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read around 30-40 books on the French Revolution and all that i can conclude from this book is that Schama is, at least on this topic, a rather simple man. He adds nothing new in his reductionist narrative of individuals and scary mobs. I can admire the (not so) fresh debate a revisionist such as François Furet adds to the historiography of the French Revolution, even if i do not agree with all of their conclusions; and realise that Schama, as with most of his books, wants to make easy popular reads that will make money. However what is dangerous is that this accessible book is written with a deeply embedded prejudice that people may happily accept as a balanced review of the revolution - and my greatest fear is that will be the only book that they'll read and so their entire perspective of such a complex event will be reduced to Schama good/bad times, good/bad people, bad violence history.
If you want a quick introduction then try:
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by William Doyle
If you want a general introduction then try:
The French Revolution, 1789-1799 by Peter McPhee
If you want more on the provinces then try:
The Terror by David Andress
For left-wing balance try Geordge Rude or:
The French Revolution by Georges Lefebvre
And finally if you want history told as an accessible narrative of individuals without proper historiographical balance then perhaps some of the excellent historical-fictions rather than Schama's attempt at history.
A truly fantastic read (and well researched)is:
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Otherwise try (but don't rely on for a proper historical analysis):
Fatal Purity by Ruth Scurr
The Gods Are Thirsty by Tanith Lee
If you want a quick introduction then try:
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by William Doyle
If you want a general introduction then try:
The French Revolution, 1789-1799 by Peter McPhee
If you want more on the provinces then try:
The Terror by David Andress
For left-wing balance try Geordge Rude or:
The French Revolution by Georges Lefebvre
And finally if you want history told as an accessible narrative of individuals without proper historiographical balance then perhaps some of the excellent historical-fictions rather than Schama's attempt at history.
A truly fantastic read (and well researched)is:
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Otherwise try (but don't rely on for a proper historical analysis):
Fatal Purity by Ruth Scurr
The Gods Are Thirsty by Tanith Lee
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not really a book to study
This isn't that much of a book to study intensly or to base a module on. However, the narrative style does solidify a firm chronological base that is essential when considering the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. J. Andrews
spectacular panorama of a watershed
This has got to be one of the best history books I have ever read. Unlike his other books, which all to often get lost in sensuous detail, this one is a perfect balance of analysis... Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
good seller, good purchase
it did what it said on the description and more: the book front cover was tattered in some places but the content and inside pages were in tact and weren't written
with speedy... Read more
with speedy... Read more
Published 14 months ago by faithxfaye
A massive book!
The French Revolution is such a massive subject, and that itself makes a massive problem both for readers and writers - how to steer a course between a simplification which will... Read more
Published 19 months ago by ECD
A Truly Dreadful Book
This book reveals an awful lot more about the author than it does about the subject matter. Schama has built his reputation on accessible history, but to use this reputation in an... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr Mackenrot
The only reason this gets a star is because there is no way of giving...
This book is a neat compilation of every criticism of the revolution and the people involved that have been written in the last 250 years, regardless of relevance or factual... Read more
Published on 12 April 2010 by J. Hauge
Rocks and Hard Places - Paradise Visions turn to Hell
The French Revolution was many things. Simon Schama is aware that, even in 875 pages, only some of those things can be told. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by Rowland Nelken
Something of an Eye Opener
There must have been something lacking in the history lessons which I received at school, since I found Schama's Citizens something of a revelation. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2009 by Mr. Geoffrey H. Fellows
Factually excellent, but like reading treacle!
I bought this book because of the number of glowing reviews on the cover. However a number of these reviews are from other historians of this period and Schama's quoting of these... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2008 by H. J. Cullum
Lacking
Schama believes that the Revolution ended with the end of the Terror. This is simply not true and a marker for the sort of angle he has taken on the matter. Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2007 by J. Edwards
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