The Days of the French Revolution

Christopher Hibbert claims to have here 'written for the general reader unfamiliar with the subject'. Well, this condensed history of the French Revolution is surely as simple a narrative as can be! The issue is, this approach is actually its weakness. Staying clear from historiographical quarrels allows for a better focus on the events; but, sadly, since such crucial events were first and foremost motivated by strong clashes of ideas, the lack of analysis and of any insight into the political, economical, and even religious background that drove them cannot but give no proper understanding of it all. If anything, we are left here with the appalling spectacle of various personalities murdering each others, in what seems like a chaotic show more and dog-eat-dog parade of regimes tumbling each others; whereas it was, obviously, more complicated than that... (although violent indeed).

I also confess having found the author's writing style quite tedious and dull. It feels like he wanted to give as much details as possible, but had to restreint himself to focus only on events which are, nevertheless, impossible to describe if not by providing the necessary background analysis he is shying away from all along... Confused? That's because it's confusing indeed! In fact, the confused reader can be excused for loosing track and/ or feel a bit dizzy trying to make sense of it all.

It was relatively nice to go through as a refresher, but, apart from that, there's not much to say... Not a very exciting book, then. show less

Hibbert's The French Revolution is an account of the events aimed clearly at the general reader. Easy to read and concise, this book focuses on the events and personalities that forced through revolutionary change, although maybe at the expense of a fuller exploration of the ideologies behind those changes.

Backed up by quotes from contemporary accounts, the Revolution unfolds over 300 odd pages in all it's bloody glory. Hibbert does not shy from the bare facts of the number of people, both aristocrat and peasant, who were guillotined in the name of Liberty. The Revolutionaries were in uncharted waters as soon as they killed the king and the vying for position amongst the various faction became ever more bloody and bitter post 1789.

All show more the big names are here, Danton, Marat, Robespierre and of course Bonaparte. All the major events are covered in detail, both their build up and outcome. The lurches from Left to Right and back again. The Terror, the final submission to dictatorship as Bonaparte stamps his authority on the remnants of the Revolutionary Councils. It's all here.

There are weightier tomes that delve deeper into the ideologies behind the Revolution, but if you want a straightforward, easy to read account of those momentous years, you can do no worse than this book. show less

Terrific popular history of everyday life during the French Revolution. The chapter on the Septembrists is truly frightening over 200 years later. Such cruel barbarous acts I cannot even imagine. The French revolutions behaved like animals and I cannot forgive them to this day. It is true that not all behaved that way but too many were cruel and violent. Hibbert is a great non scholarly historian and I strongly recommend this book.

1694 The Days of the French Revolution, by Christopher Hibbert (read 14 Feb 1982) This book is footnoteless and makes no pretense to scholarliness. But it was published in 1980 and is written in the usual lively Hibbert style. The time of the French Revolution was an unbelievable time--and the events never cease to amaze. But this book attempts to cover too much, and so I was not as intrigued by it as I have been by some other books I have read on this subject--see, e.g., Epitaph for Kings, which I read in July 1975. Maybe I should read a good book on the rise of Napoleon. The last section of this book deals with that rather summarily. [On 13 Oct 2008 I read Europe and the French Imperium 1799-1814, by Geoffrey Bruun, and I thought it show more did a good job telling of the rise of Napoleon.] show less

Vivid narrative history of the French Revolution focusing on its dramatic events and key figures.

Hibbert states that his intention in writing this book was partly to provide a readable introduction to the works of other historians, and by that standard he succeeded. There isn't much depth or analysis here, but since I knew almost nothing about the Revolution before I read this book, I've found it very useful as a basic summary of the important events and persons and a skeleton on which to place further knowledge.

"Never was any such event so inevitable yet so completely unforeseen." Alexis de Tocqueville's 19th-century assessment of the French Revolution echoes the contemporary reaction to the monumental events that took place over 200 years ago. Christopher Hibbert's superb historical narrative The Days of the French Revolution captures de Tocqueville's immediacy but tempers it with the hindsight of history. Detailing events from the meeting of the Estates General at Versailles in 1789 to the coup d'état that brought Napoleon to power 10 years later, The Days of the French Revolution captures the passion and ferocity motivating the events and the individuals that most dramatically shaped the Revolution.

Originally published in 1990, The Days of show more the French Revolution maintains its supremacy among the plethora of French Revolution histories. An acclaimed author of over 25 historical and biographical studies, Hibbert presents complexly related events in a logical, readable format and supplies plenty of historical background and detail without sacrificing clarity or narrative flow. He writes for the general reader unfamiliar with Revolution history, introducing them to individuals as diverse as Marie Antoinette, the young lawyer Danton, the journalist Marat, and the Girondin, sans-culotte and extremist Enragé political factions, weaving their fates together, and adeptly illustrating how they influenced the Revolution and how the Revolution, in turn, changed their lives. Maps, illustrations, a chronology of principle events, a glossary, and a list of major sources supplement Hibbert's eight chronologically ordered chapters, and his prologue, which focuses on the reign of Louis XVI, sets the scene for the events of 1789. At the same time entertaining and informative, The Days of the French Revolution allows its readers to forget that they are reading a book of history. --Bertina Loeffler Sedlack show less