A sweeping recreation of the French Revolution's turbulent twists and turns, and an immersive experience of the dizzying changes at a turning point in history.
On July 14, 1789, King Louis XVI of France wrote “Nothing happened today” in his diary. At that very moment, the people of Paris had stormed the Bastille, heralding the start of the French Revolution. The old order was swiftly dismantled, while a new one had yet to be established. The vacuum of power plunged French society into chaos, turning it into a battleground for warring factions.
The king seemed compliant, but was secretly plotting to flee. In the end, he died at the guillotine.
Divisions emerged within the revolutionary government, and factional conflict threatened to erupt.
European nations braced for war with France, and the countdown to conflict began.
Public opinion shifted. The people had hoped for freedom and equality, but what they got was rumor and fear...
This book recreates nearly thirty years of the French Revolution's turbulent history: the bankruptcy of the state, war with Europe, the Reign of Terror, the Thermidorian Reaction, and Napoleon's rule. Readers will be transported to the Palace of Versailles, parliamentary halls, the streets of France, and the front lines of war in the eighteenth century, experiencing the revolution's twists and turns on a grand scale and immersing themselves in the rapid changes of a historic turning point.
Open this book and follow William Doyle, a Fellow of the British Academy, into eighteenth-century France to experience the French Revolution's gripping drama.
I like many characters in the book, especially Louis XVI, whose fate made me sigh. This book reminded me of Les Misérables in that they both showed the turmoil of the time and the struggles of the people. History is always surprisingly similar, and hopefully we can learn from past mistakes.
Objective, detailed and exciting.