Massacres were nothing new to the late eighteenth-century world, but the prospect of a government systematically executing its opponents by the cartload for months on end presented Europe with a new and unimaginable horror. The Reign of Terror and the French Revolution as a whole transformed the...

Massacres were nothing new to the late eighteenth-century world, but the prospect of a government systematically executing its opponents by the cartload for months on end presented Europe with a new and unimaginable horror. The Reign of Terror and the French Revolution as a whole transformed the meaning of political change and history itself. Written by a leading historian, this authoritative and comprehensive history draws on a wealth of new research in order to reassess the greatest of all revolutions. Beginning with the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, 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. They were the ones who paid the price for the destruction of the old political order and the struggle to establish a new one, based on liberty and revolution, in the face of widespread indifference and hostility. Highly readable and meticulously researched, The Oxford History of the French Revolution will provide new insights into one of the most important events in European history.

"An unusually compelling work of scholarly synthesis: a history of a city of revolution in a revolutionary century. Garrioch claims that until 1750 Paris remained a city characterized by a powerful sense of hierarchy. From the mid-century on, however, and with gathering speed, economic, demographic...

"An unusually compelling work of scholarly synthesis: a history of a city of revolution in a revolutionary century. Garrioch claims that until 1750 Paris remained a city characterized by a powerful sense of hierarchy. From the mid-century on, however, and with gathering speed, economic, demographic, political, and social change swept the city. Having produced an extremely engaging account of the old corporate society, Garrioch turns to the forces that relentlessly undermined it."--John E. Talbott, author of "The Pen and Ink Sailor: Charles Middleton and the King's Navy, 1778-1813

"A truly wonderful synthesis of the many historical strands that compose the history of eighteenth-century Paris. In rewriting the history of the French Revolution as a more than century-long urban metamorphosis, Garrioch makes a brilliant case for the centrality of Paris in the history of France."--Bonnie Smith, author of "The Gender of History: Men, Women, and Historical Practice

The French Revolution remains one of the crucial events of modern European and world history. This book introduces students to the French Revolution through an historical and cultural overview, as well as the contextual framing of primary documents of ordinary people's experiences in the dramatic...

The French Revolution remains one of the crucial events of modern European and world history. This book introduces students to the French Revolution through an historical and cultural overview, as well as the contextual framing of primary documents of ordinary people's experiences in the dramatic conflicts of 1789-1799. Most of the documents are first translations into English for a North American audience.

Thomas Paine was the first international revolutionary. His Common Sense (1776) was the most widely read pamphlet of the American Revolution--and his Rights of Man (1791-2), the most famous defense of the French Revolution, sent out a clarion call for revolution throughout the world. Paine paid the...

Thomas Paine was the first international revolutionary. His Common Sense (1776) was the most widely read pamphlet of the American Revolution--and his Rights of Man (1791-2), the most famous defense of the French Revolution, sent out a clarion call for revolution throughout the world. Paine paid the price for his principles: he was outlawed in Britain, narrowly escaped execution in France, and was vilified as an atheist and a Jacobin on his return to America. This new edition contains the complete texts of both Rights of Man and Common Sense, as well as six other powerfully political writings--American Crisis I, American Crisis XIII, Agrarian Justice, Letter to Jefferson, Letter Addressed to the Addressers on the Late Proclamation, and Dissertation on the First Principles of Government--all of which illustrate why Paine's ideas still resonate in the modern welfare states of today.