Revolutionary France, 1770-1880 /

Furet is generally regarded as the foremost living historian of the French Revolution. First published in French in 1988, this outstanding work is now available in English. As the title indicates, Furet looks at revolutionary France over a 110-year period, beginning with the background to the Revolution of 1789. Roughly half of the book is devoted to the French Revolution and Napoleonic eras. The study is remarkable in that Furet is able to tie together various revolutionary principles and trace them through the 19th century, culminating in their implementation in the Third French Republic. Nicely translated, this book is based on a lifetime of research and writing and includes a valuable annotated bibliography and an appendix of chronological events for those unfamiliar with the Revolutionary calendar dates used in France during the period 1793 to 1806. An authoritative study of one of the most important periods in French history. Highly recommended. General; undergraduate; graduate; faculty. G. C. Bond; Auburn University Main Campus

Historians of modern France know that the 19th century unfolded like a slowmotion replay of the great revolution of 1789. What is unique and original about this political history is that it places the revolutions of 1789, 1830, 1848, and 1871 within one overarching democratic tradition. Furet (history, Univ. of Chicago, and director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris), a noted scholar of the period, theorizes that only the victory of republicans over monarchists in 1876-77 solidified and achieved the ideals first envisioned in 1789 of civic equality and political liberty. His interpretation challenges the traditional view that the Napoleonic years ``closed'' the revolutionary era. This sweeping yet richly detailed narrative history of French democracy during the 19th century should interest students of French history as well as cultural and political historians.-- Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.