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Product Description
Review
"Traditional, scholarly, narrative history...a clear and balanced picture of the origins of the Revolution."--The New York Times Book Review
"A fair, and remarkably complete, account of both the Revolution itself and the years that preceded it...a book that sets itself to cover an immense amount of ground and ends with a clear and well-balanced final chapter in which he outlines the many gains, and the often heavy cost, of the revolutionary years ...thorough and scholarly appraisal of French cultural values."--New York Newsday
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 Griffi
Product Description
This new edition of the most authoritative, comprehensive history of the French Revolution of 1789 draws on a generation of extensive research and scholarly debate to reappraise the most famous of all revolutions. Updates for this second edition include a generous chronology of events, plus an extended bibliographical essay providing an examination of the historiography of the Revolution. Opening with the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, the book traces the history of France through revolution, terror, and counter-revolution, to the triumph of Napoleon in 1802, and analyses the impact of events both in France itself and the rest of Europe. William Doyle shows how a movement which began with optimism and general enthusiasm soon became a tragedy, not only for the ruling orders, but for the millions of ordinary people all over Europe whose lives were disrupted by religious upheaval, and civil and international war. It was they who paid the price for the destruction of the old political order and the struggle to establish a new one, based on the ideals of liberty and revolution, in the face of widespread indifference and hostility.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Comprehensive discussion on the revolution with a very practical application. I had hoped for more of a political/philosophical discussion on the topic and was slightly disappointed in this. That said, that book is encyclopaedic in its discussion and covers virtually everything that you might want to know about the practical events of the revolution. As a reference therefore - for anyone reading/writing on the topic - it is thoroughly indispensable... but for the rest of us and as a bedtime read the book is slightly tiresome, overly detailed and slow moving.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a complete novice with curiosity to feed I started Doyle's 'Oxford History of the French Revolution' together with Asprey's (2 vol) 'Rise & Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte' and Schama's 'Citizens', all together. Doyle's work is a perfect guide to illuminate this labyrinth - he engages very well and very early. For me this is a page-turner, consuming all available time and only with discipline can I put it down to cover the same ground from Asprey's perspective. This latter also a tremendously good read, a little lighter but the first half of the first volume makes a very good companion work. All that is left of Schama is a dent in the wall finally wrung out of my patience at page 83. I seem to be in a minority here, so I will simply record personal exasperation with Schama's style without seeking argument.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I came to this with a reasonable general knowledge of Ancient and British history, but my understanding of European history consisted mostly of hazy memories from school.
I had perhaps avoided studying the French Revolution because of the complexity of the period and perhaps also its ferocity.
To prepare myself I had read Doyle's 'Very Short' history and his book on the origins of the revolution, both of which I liked because of a measured analysis seemingly founded on reflective and detailed research. This book shares those virtues and seems to leave no stone unturned in recording every shift of thought and policy from 1789 until the advent of Napoleon's dictatorship.
At times this makes the book quite slow to read. Doyle's style is conversational, and in following the argument of Jacobins, Girondins, Feuillants, Chouans, Protestants, Royalists, emigres etc etc through a decade where seemingly no-one had time to draw breath it is easy to lose the thread.
However Doyle is in it for the long haul and his analysis is thoughtful, but never heavy in tone and leavened with irony. The enthusiasm which gobbled up the ancien regime and spat it out, and the tremendous importance this had for the whole of Europe over subsequent decades is acknowledged. So is the bloodshed and chaos which resulted from throwing out many beneficent aspects of the roles played by the aristocracy and church.
I had perhaps avoided studying the French Revolution because of the complexity of the period and perhaps also its ferocity.
To prepare myself I had read Doyle's 'Very Short' history and his book on the origins of the revolution, both of which I liked because of a measured analysis seemingly founded on reflective and detailed research. This book shares those virtues and seems to leave no stone unturned in recording every shift of thought and policy from 1789 until the advent of Napoleon's dictatorship.
At times this makes the book quite slow to read. Doyle's style is conversational, and in following the argument of Jacobins, Girondins, Feuillants, Chouans, Protestants, Royalists, emigres etc etc through a decade where seemingly no-one had time to draw breath it is easy to lose the thread.
However Doyle is in it for the long haul and his analysis is thoughtful, but never heavy in tone and leavened with irony. The enthusiasm which gobbled up the ancien regime and spat it out, and the tremendous importance this had for the whole of Europe over subsequent decades is acknowledged. So is the bloodshed and chaos which resulted from throwing out many beneficent aspects of the roles played by the aristocracy and church.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
book sold as new but its not
the book was advertised as new but when it arrived it was not new it was used item. bad experience
Published 14 days ago by Review
Excellent Book
I wanted to get a better picture of what hapened during the revolution and this book certainly did the job . Read more
Published 1 month ago by DHC1
Well-rounded and thorough account of the French Revolution
I hate to admit that before reading The Oxford History of the French Revolution I was in complete darkness regarding one of the most significant social and political events of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. A. Pappas
Riveting bedtime reading
Having suffered appalling teachers of history, I hadn't read a history book for forty years. Also, I had never understood the French Revolution, that complicated concatenation of... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Marianne
Exhaustive and fascinating
This book was required reading on a French Revolution module I took while studying in Paris a number of years ago. Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Craig Manton
history as it should be written
If you are interested in the French revolution, this is the book to read. I have been reading around this subject since childhood, Baroness Orczy, Tale of Two Cities and more... Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2010 by C. Heneghan
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