Saint-Just /

The bicentennial of the French Revolution has generated an outpouring of works on that momentous event, and no period of the Revolution has attracted as much attention as the Reign of Terror of 1793-94. Although Maximilien Robespierre is most often identified as the mastermind behind the Terror, his friend and colleague on the powerful Committee of Public Safety, Antoine Saint-Just, was arguably the next most powerful revolutionary politician in France. Saint-Just's role, ideas, and influence during this dramatic period of the Revolution is the focus of Hampson's study. The youngest of the Revolutionary leaders, Saint-Just became a powerful spokesman for the Terror government; his fall, along with Robespierre and his followers, brought down the Terror and ushered in a more moderate phase of the Revolution. Hampson is a widely published authority on the French Revolution and this scholarly, thoroughly researched study provides the serious reader with the first English-language reexamination of Saint-Just in more than 50 years. Highly recommended for scholars and students with some background in the history of this period. -G. C. Bond, Auburn University