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For Beginners
French Revolutions For Beginners
Allons enfants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé! "Arise children of the Fatherland, the day of glory has arrived!" These opening lines to La Marseillaise, France's famously stirring and evocative national anthem, capture perfectly the passion, fear, and frenetic energy of Republicanism's sanguinary birth on French soil. Through the violence of the Revolutions the reign of the Bourbon monarchy came to an end and modern France was born. French Revolutions For Beginners examines the several bloody revolutions and counter-revolutions throughout the course of the 19th century and the constant upheavals and disruptions in France's ever changing political landscape from 1789-1900. While most people have some familiarity with names like Louis XVI and Napoleon, the details of what exactly happened during the French Revolution--apart from pithy royal pronouncements about cake eating and the ever-falling blade of the guillotine--are often difficult to understand, and for good there were 15 changes of government in less than a century! The legacy of the French Revolutions remains with us today; we see it all over the world when an oppressed people rise up against an authoritarian regime demanding their rights as citizens be recognized. French Revolutions For Beginners presents the major political figures, events and hot-button political issues of this extremely violent, chaotic, confusing--but exciting--period in a way that is accessible, interesting, and fun to both history buffs and the neophyte alike.
182 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 20, 2017
I struggled to rate this book because I felt that, while it was accessible, accurate, and surprisingly funny, it was a bit advanced for a so-called "beginner's guide." This book expects you to have a fairly solid grasp of concepts like the plebiscite, feudalism, Enlightenment philosophy, and monetary policy, and at least a passing knowledge of figures such as Robespierre, Marie Antionette, and Napoleon. Various relevant dates were omitted, and there was no sense of geography in the book, nor were there helpful tools such as timelines, indices, or maps. I gave it as high of a rating as I did on the strength of the writing, which was engaging and easy to understand, and the research, which was smoothly organized and hung together well, but if they had broken down the topics for true beginners then it would have received 5 stars.
January 25, 2022
Don’t let the title fool you. This is not another reductive portrayal of the french revolution being about mud and shit stained peasants massacring foppish powdered-wig nobles. There is of course a bit of this, but this book is SO much more. It is a succinct and easy to understand explanation of the intense, complex, and shockingly radical ideas and individuals that French society birthed in the late 18th century and its legacy that continues to this day. Although it is not an exhaustive and exceedibly in-depth book, it is excellent and should be required in history classes. One could even say that it is a short political history of France in the 19th century. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the modern politics of not just France, but the whole world.
October 13, 2019
Originally posted over at my blog, The Grimoire Reliquary. With an extra outtake you won't find below!
Has another event in European history affected the age we live in as much as the French Revolution? Hasn’t every political debate, every crisis of our time been directly shaped by blood spilled and lines drawn in the sand throughout the events that unfolded in those first months, years and decades following 1789? Left and right, republicans and traditionalists, radicals and radicals and a thousand more shades of radicals, each more extreme than the other, killing ripping each other to bloody bits, some for political expediency; others out of loyalty to egalitarian beliefs; yet others, like the members of the lower aristocracy and the bourgeois with whom the tide began, wished for more incremental reform — say, a liberal democracy! Little did they know the beast they were unleashing.
The French Revolution is a snake that eats its own tail, and this excellent introductory novel shows just how events pushed Paris ever deeper under the mud and blood of revolution. There’s plenty to enthrall and horrify — the lithany of beheadings, the crushing debt and superinflation France goes under as result of its financing America’s war for independence, the startling turn in fortunes for some of France’s best and worst.
I must sound slightly insane, proclaiming such events ‘enthralling.’ Oh, well.
As you might’ve guessed by the title, this novel covers more than just the first revolution – fixating on Napoleon’s exploits for a sizable chunk, it eventually goes past the 1850s, in fact, covering even the Paris commune in 1871.
Excellent illustrations by Tom Motley, both poignant and funny. Motley’s pen captures many of the paradoxes of different revolutionary idealogues, pierces through the hypocrisies of the time and challenges the reader to reevaluate certain events through a different angle entirely.
This is a great starting point that leaves a lot unsaid — and it’s up to you to find out which events to dig deeper about. Me, I think I’ll get better acquainted with Georges Danton, a lawyer and revolutionary plagued by scandals about the misappropriation of revolutionary funds. The Napoleonic era is also one I’m itching to start with, and there’s plenty I want to learn about the inner workings of the Paris Commune, short as that lasted. Soon, very soon!
Pre-Review Babble:
What a fantastic introduction to the French Revolution(s)! Full of interesting historical facts presented concisely, funny quotes by many of the main actors throughout the different revolutionary and counter-revolutionary regimes and satirical illustrations as drawn by Tom Motley, this introductory book on the 19th century history of France's bloodiest period was a treat to read.
I'll expand my thoughts on this next time I write my Mini-Reviews over at The Grimoire Reliquary.
Has another event in European history affected the age we live in as much as the French Revolution? Hasn’t every political debate, every crisis of our time been directly shaped by blood spilled and lines drawn in the sand throughout the events that unfolded in those first months, years and decades following 1789? Left and right, republicans and traditionalists, radicals and radicals and a thousand more shades of radicals, each more extreme than the other, killing ripping each other to bloody bits, some for political expediency; others out of loyalty to egalitarian beliefs; yet others, like the members of the lower aristocracy and the bourgeois with whom the tide began, wished for more incremental reform — say, a liberal democracy! Little did they know the beast they were unleashing.
The French Revolution is a snake that eats its own tail, and this excellent introductory novel shows just how events pushed Paris ever deeper under the mud and blood of revolution. There’s plenty to enthrall and horrify — the lithany of beheadings, the crushing debt and superinflation France goes under as result of its financing America’s war for independence, the startling turn in fortunes for some of France’s best and worst.
I must sound slightly insane, proclaiming such events ‘enthralling.’ Oh, well.
As you might’ve guessed by the title, this novel covers more than just the first revolution – fixating on Napoleon’s exploits for a sizable chunk, it eventually goes past the 1850s, in fact, covering even the Paris commune in 1871.
Excellent illustrations by Tom Motley, both poignant and funny. Motley’s pen captures many of the paradoxes of different revolutionary idealogues, pierces through the hypocrisies of the time and challenges the reader to reevaluate certain events through a different angle entirely.
This is a great starting point that leaves a lot unsaid — and it’s up to you to find out which events to dig deeper about. Me, I think I’ll get better acquainted with Georges Danton, a lawyer and revolutionary plagued by scandals about the misappropriation of revolutionary funds. The Napoleonic era is also one I’m itching to start with, and there’s plenty I want to learn about the inner workings of the Paris Commune, short as that lasted. Soon, very soon!
Pre-Review Babble:
What a fantastic introduction to the French Revolution(s)! Full of interesting historical facts presented concisely, funny quotes by many of the main actors throughout the different revolutionary and counter-revolutionary regimes and satirical illustrations as drawn by Tom Motley, this introductory book on the 19th century history of France's bloodiest period was a treat to read.
I'll expand my thoughts on this next time I write my Mini-Reviews over at The Grimoire Reliquary.
May 18, 2018
This book is so good if you want to learn more about the french rev. the format of the book makes it super easy to understand the perspective of the people in France in 1789. but this writer has many other different books that are the same format. But this book has little political cartoons that show a representation whats going on and makes it that much easier to understand the french rev. but overall this book is great to learn more about the french rev and super easy to understand.
July 4, 2017
A quick and dirty guide to the history of France from 1789 - 1900, during which there were several revolutions and counter-revolutions. This is the period of Louis XVI, Napoleon, the guillotine, Marie Antoinette, etc. Very interesting to read after having seen so much of Paris!
January 19, 2016
French Revolutions for Beginners by Michael J. Lamonica is an excellent book on the history behind the famous revolutions in France. It is easy to understand without being simplistic. While I was familiar with the major causes and leaders of the revolutions, this book provides background information on both the causes and the leaders that was new to me. The material is presented in an interesting manner and gives great insight into the revolutions. It presents the major political figures, issues and events of this violent, chaotic, confusing period in an interesting, compelling and fun manner way for history buffs and those simply wishing to more about the French Revolution.
November 25, 2014
A Goodreads First Reads giveaway winner! :)
Awesome and easy to understand!
Awesome and easy to understand!
February 12, 2016
Love Love LOVE the illustrations. This book makes history fun!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews