The French Revolution: A Political History

by John Hardman

A major new political history of the French Revolution

In 1786, France’s ancien régime was functioning as usual. Its alliance with the victorious American colonies had restored its diplomatic prestige, the economy seemed to be flourishing, and internal politics seemed quiet. But just a few short years later, the dynasty which had ruled France for over 800 years was swept away. What happened to cause such devastating change to the long-established political structure?

John Hardman traces the political history of the French Revolution, from its origins to its aftermath. Hardman argues that the nature of ancien régime politics, the mismanagement of the fiscal crisis, and a new generation of young, overly confident politicians brought the Bourbon monarchy’s apparatus crashing down. He shows how feudalism was on its last legs in 1789, and analyses the key roles played by Louis XVI, Antoine Barnave, and Georges Danton.

This is a remarkable history of one of modern Europe’s defining moments, shedding new light on the complex politics of the day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, France, Politics

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2025

About the author

John Hardman is one of the world’s leading experts on the French Revolution and the author of several well-regarded books on the subject. He was formerly lecturer in modern history at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[History Today]

What was revolutionary about the French Revolution? Contemporary critics such as Edmund Burke lamented that France’s tyro politicians had squandered a golden opportunity to renew with a useable past. Had they found nothing to salvage from their own traditions, he urged, they might yet have imitated ‘wise examples’ available abroad, notably the constitutional model of their British neighbours. Instead, they were hazarding an untested path woe-betided with epochal danger. Such auguries, however, tended to disregard the revolution’s shock-of-the-new logic and appeal. As rhapsodised by Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, a leading young gun during the Terror, there should be no imitation of anything ‘that has occurred before us’, because ‘heroism has no models’. For Alexis de Tocqueville, seeking to make sense of it all in 19th-century retrospect, Burke had misconstrued the revolution ‘taking place before his eyes’ – one which broke new ground precisely because ‘there could be no question of putting the clock back’.

John Hardman introduces his chronicle of the French Revolution by evoking how the events of 1789 and beyond would indeed put a new type of ‘revolution’ on the world historical map. In the 20th century France’s revolutionary script would become the ‘model’ for Russia and China. And yet, as the author dryly observes, these were hardly ‘happy experiences’. To be sure, Hardman does not pin blame on the generation of 1789 for latter-day revolutionary misadventures, seeing the French case as one-of-a-kind. Instead, he aims to explore how the political history of the French Revolution would become ‘a record of failure, instability and internecine strife’.

Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...

Simon Macdonald is Lecturer in Modern European History at University College London.

[Martyn Cockerill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complex political history of the French Revolution; some of this went over my head (my own fault for not reading something more straightforward first), but it answered some of the questions I had going into it, and it gripped me throughout. A good read!

[Scrabble]

The French Revolution is possibly one of the most well-litigated and debated events in history, especially at the academic level - Even at the time Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke were arguing over what was happening in France. This debate is part of what makes it one of my favorite periods to study, with different authors bringing different perspectives to the table.

Hardman, as a former biographer of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, excels at bringing the perspective of the royal court and high political society to his retelling of history. As somebody that has always been drawn more to the history of the ordinary people living in revolutionary times offered by people like Soboul and Hobsbawm, this is a perspective that I would have thought I would find boring and uninteresting.

I would have been wrong to think that, because John Hardman is an excellent writer of history. The perspective of the royal court, as well as the political operators in the National Assembly, allows the reader to understand the ambitions and plans that those at the top had - and also, how a couple of well timed, angry mobs, could completely derail those plans.

Particular highlights include the Trial of Louis XVI, where Hardman invents a "Speech the King might have made" during his trial (In reality, he never delivered a speech in his defence.), the section covering the death of Mirabeau and his funeral, as well as the trial of the Girondins.

Hardman's knowledge of the interpersonal relations between many of the significant figures also elevates the book, allowing him to speculate how personal stresses, or relationship breakdowns, may have impacted the decisions made and the course of history.


This is a book about the "Political History" of the French Revolution. If this is a subject matter that is totally new to you, I would not recommend this book, but if you are familiar with the major events of this period of history, and want a more intimate understanding of the political decision makers, this is an excellent book. Hardman allows you to understand their motives and ambitions, providing insight into what model of society groups may have been aiming to create, and he shows how history forced constant detours away from the grand plans of Louis XVI, Barnave, Robespierre and many, many others.

[Carole Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

The French Revolution: A Political History by John Hardman is a clear, insightful account of the political forces and missteps that toppled France’s 800-year-old monarchy. Tracing key figures, fiscal crises, and feudal decline, Hardman illuminates how a combination of leadership errors and emerging revolutionary energies reshaped Europe’s political landscape.

[Max Burch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the political history of the french revolution, takes a while to get into and understand if you only a mild understanding.