An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

48. The French Revolution

May 03, 2021

Description

With France facing economic struggles and rising unemployment revolution was in the air. But who was in charge of the uprising and what did it achieve? Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland storm...
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Books Referenced

Citizens

Author: Simon Schama

Context:

Referenced multiple times as the major Anglophone historiographical contribution to the French Revolution bicentennial, noted for arguing that violence was inherent to the revolution from the beginning

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Author: Edmund Burke

Context:

Described as 'the foundational text of conservatism' that gained traction because Burke predicted the Terror before it happened, used by British reactionaries throughout the 19th century

A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Context:

Mentioned as representing the British/Dickensian view of the French Revolution, and referenced as the book Margaret Thatcher gave to Mitterrand at the bicentenary

Black Spartacus

Author: Sudhir Hazareesingh

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as a book about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution, with a quote about Napoleon's racial views being cited from it

Dangerous Liaisons

Author: Laclos

Context:

Referenced as contributing to the cultural image of scheming aristocrats who viewed torture and sexual sadism as pleasure, part of the propaganda swirl during the revolution