An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

480. The French Revolution: The Rights of Man (Part 6)

August 05, 2024

Description

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité!” Alongside violence, the French Revolution is a story of principles and values. It is the ultimate intersection of brutality and Enlightenment idealism, as...
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Books Referenced

Revolutionary Ideas

Author: Jonathan Israel

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as 'his book on the French Revolution' when discussing Israel's views on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and his argument about the radical Enlightenment's influence on the revolution.

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Author: Edmund Burke

Context:

Referenced as Burke's work that was 'published even before the terror,' discussing his critique of the revolution for throwing out traditions and customs.

Oxford History of the French Revolution

Author: William Doyle

Context:

Explicitly cited when quoting Doyle's assessment that the August 4th session 'proved to be the most sweeping and radical legislative session of the whole French Revolution' and later on the oath of the clergy being a major turning point.

Liberty or Death

Author: Peter McPhee

Context:

Explicitly described as 'his brilliant Liberty or Death book on the French Revolution' when discussing how the oath of the clergy fractured both the church and the revolution.

The Calas Affair: Persecution, Toleration, and Heresy in Eighteenth-Century Toulouse

Author: David Bien

Context:

Referenced as having 'wrote a brilliant book on the Calat Fair' (the Calas affair), quoted discussing how the Enlightenment's impact on French thought should not be read back anachronistically before the revolution.

Citizens

Author: Simon Schama

Context:

Cited (as 'Simon Sharma' in transcript) when quoting his assessment that 'The civil constitution was not simply another piece of institutional legislation. It was the beginning of a holy war.'