The Fall of the French Monarchy: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and the Baron De Breteuil

by Munro Price

Munro Price has meticulously researched the mood, atmosphere and personalities behind the palace walls. At the heart of this research is a cache of letters that sheds new light on the lives of the royals, as the monarchy was gradually stripped of its power and revolutionary fervour called for their execution. The central character in this new evidence is the Baron de Breteuil, Louis's ambassador in exile, who orchestrated doomed escape plans and co-ordinated the international response to the revolution.This new book reassesses a perennially interesting period of history and will shed fresh insight into one of the real tuning points in European history

Genres: History, France, French Revolution

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Munro Price is a British historian noted for his award winning work on French history. Price was educated at Cambridge University. For most of his career he has been based at the University of Bradford, where he is currently professor of Modern European History. He has also taught at the University of Swansea and the University of Lyon

Reviews

[Gareth Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book years ago and I'm impressed in a different way every time I return to it. A genuinely ground-breaking piece of history and the result of painstaking archival research, "The Fall of the French Monarchy" begins with shrewd, insightful pen-portraits of how absolutism in France functioned by 1789, then of individual senior members of the royal family, before utilising previously unpublished diary entries from courtiers, diplomats, and eye-witnesses at Versailles as the monarchy imploded in the latter half of 1789.

As its name suggests, this is a history seen from the perspective of the vanquished. It attempts to answer not so much why the French monarchy collapsed as the question of how. Royalist high politics, and its internal divisions, are surprisingly under-studied in comparison to its contemporary oppositions. Here, Price masterfully shows that royalism was less-blinkered in 1789 than is traditionally supposed, but that it was even more divided by 1792 than previously thought. Marie-Antoinette emerges as an unlikely heroine in the later section of Price's analysis, as does her surprising alliance with the more moderate elements of monarchism. It is hard not to be impressed by her courage. That being said, the book does successfully rehabilitate a contemporary accusation made against her by her enemies - namely, that she resorted to forgery in order to liaise with foreign powers against the revolution. Price's narrative on the Queen's reluctant acceptance of leadership in the face of her husband's struggle with depression is brilliantly told.

This is more of an academic book in tone, which will suit some readers and might not be what others are looking for. As a contribution to our understanding of what happened on the French Right between 1789 and 1792, it is extraordinary.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a few corrections to this review in March 2024.

This is a fascinating, well written history about the flight to Vareness and the fall of the French Monarchy, but what makes this book special is that it based upon an amazing trove of documents that have lain unread for nearly 200 years. These documents are the heart of the book and show how Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette worked with their supporters in France, but particularly those abroad to try and re-establish the ability of the King to act free of the threats from the Paris mob. So much surrounding the flight to Vareness has been obscure and subject to guess work, speculation and, more often then not, speculation and supposition which often had little basis in anything but wishful and fanciful thinking. The documents discovered solves many of the uncertainties and in particular puts an end to the idea that Marie Antoinette was carrying on plans and plots the King was ignorant of.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the French Revolutionary period. It is as well a cracking and interesting good read.

[jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and definitely a notable addition to the plethora of books about France's last Bourbon monarchs, I'm still not sure why this isn't as popular as it should be.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very interesting and anyone wanting an in depth account of the the French Revolution should consider reading as it truly gives one a real look into the day by day changes and intrigues in the fall of the Monarchy. For me it was a little to long of detail and more geared for a scholar researching the revolution and its march from the Monarchy to trying to come so some constitutional agreement while leaving the King to have certain powers and then the different factions fighting for control of the revolution and the power of its final demise. Once you have read this book you will almost be an expert but because it is detailed it is difficult to remember all the names and the facts begin to get in the way of just a brief understanding of al that happened in the 1780's to the 1830's in Franc.

[Carlos Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente exposição do período mais crítico da Monarquia francesa.

[Bartira Nunes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito preciso e elucidativo, recomendo a todos aqueles que se interessam pelos aspectos políticos da Revolução Francesa.