ABSTRACT

P. M. Jones’ The French Revolution, now in its third edition, is an authoritative survey of events in France from 1787, as the power of the ancien régime began to crumble, until 1804 and the demise of the Republic. It provides a balanced and accessible account of the dramatic events of the intervening years, including the fall of the Bastille, the months of the Terror and the journey towards the creation of the First French Empire, are analysed, along with an assessment of the wider significance of the revolutionary decade.

This new edition has been fully revised and updated to include new material on citizenship, gender, equality and legal reforms, and the imperial dimension of the Revolution. The historiographical debate is brought right up to date, taking into account the most recent scholarship on the Revolution. The narrative is supported by a selection of original documents which shed light on events of the period from the perspective of those who lived through it.

With supplementary materials including a chronology, who’s who, glossary and guide to further reading, this book remains an invaluable resource for students of the French Revolution.

part I|16 pages

Part I

chapter 1|14 pages

The setting

part II|93 pages

Part II

chapter 2|13 pages

Reform or revolution, 1787–89?

chapter 3|17 pages

Renewal, 1789–91

chapter 4|16 pages

The failure of consensus, 1791–92

chapter 5|15 pages

War and terror, 1792–94

chapter 6|16 pages

The search for stability, 1795–99

chapter 7|14 pages

Consolidation, 1799–1804

part III|15 pages

Part III

chapter 8|13 pages

Assessment

part IV|35 pages

Documents

chapter 1|1 pages

A royal reprimand

chapter 2|2 pages

Imagining the ancien régime body politic

chapter 4|2 pages

Defining the nation

chapter 6|2 pages

Swansong of the aristocracy

chapter 7|2 pages

Forward-looking nobles

chapter 8|2 pages

Backward-looking nobles

chapter 9|4 pages

Parish grievances

chapter 10|3 pages

The new Doctrine of Rights

chapter 11|1 pages

Female citizenship

chapter 12|2 pages

Church reform

chapter 14|2 pages

Parting of the ways in the Champ de Mars

chapter 15|2 pages

Overthrow of the monarchy

chapter 16|2 pages

What is a sans-culotte?

chapter 17|3 pages

The popular programme

chapter 18|2 pages

Legislating revolutionary government

chapter 19|2 pages

Dechristianization

chapter 20|2 pages

Scorched-earth treatment for rebels

chapter 21|2 pages

Crisis in the Sections of Paris

chapter 22|2 pages

Civic culture in the making?

chapter 23|2 pages

Managing 'une grande nation'

chapter 25|2 pages

Regaining control

chapter 26|3 pages

Marking out the new civil order