The French Revolution, 1789-1799

by Peter McPhee

This book provides a succinct yet up-to-date and challenging approach to the French Revolution of 1789-1799 and its consequences. Peter McPhee provides an accessible and reliable overview and one which deliberately introduces students to central debates among historians. The book has two main aims. One aim is to consider the origins and nature of the Revolution of 1789-99. Why was there a Revolution in France in 1789? Why did the Revolution follow its particular course after 1789? When was it 'over'? A second aim is to examine the significance of the Revolutionary period in accelerating the decay of Ancient Regime society. How 'revolutionary' was the Revolution? Was France fundamentally changed as a result of it? Of particular interest to students will be the emphasis placed by the author on the repercussions of the Revolution on the proactive of daily the lived experience of the Revolution. The author's recent work on the environmental impact of the Revolution is also incorporated to provide a lively, modern, and rounded picture of France during this critical phase in the development of modern Europe.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, French Revolution, France, School, Historical, War

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 2001

About the author

McPhee was educated at Caulfield Grammar School and Trinity College while studying at the University of Melbourne, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees, a Diploma in Education and a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

He later taught at LaTrobe University (1975–79) and the Victoria University of Wellington (1980–86) before teaching history at Melbourne. He specialises in research on French history and the French Revolution, having published numerous books on the subject. His academic management positions at Melbourne have included working as Deputy Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, head of the Department of History and President of the university's academic board. In 2003 he became the deputy vice-chancellor for academics and in 2007 was appointed as the inaugural provost. As part of this role he has been responsible for planning and introducing the university's controversial new Melbourne Model, which is designed to maintain consistency with the Bologna Accords' structure for European higher education.

In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to education.

McPhee retired from the University of Melbourne on 14 June 2009 but continues to serve as a professorial fellow.

In 2014 Peter McPhee, with the University of Melbourne and Coursera, developed a free online course on the French Revolution. The course follows the chapters in his eBook, The French Revolution.

Reviews

[Rochu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro corto que resume con un eje claro y concreto pero sin ser en absoluto árido la historia de la revolución francesa, desde la exigencia de convocar a Estados Generales en 1788 hasta el plebiscito de 1802 que confirma a Napoleón como Primer Cónsul. Es fácil de leer, la información es concreta pero no carece de detalles interesantes, y el foco que pone en los movimiento de base, desde los sans-culottes hasta los campesinos (con un cierto énfasis en la participación de las mujeres y en cuestiones socioculturales que es interesantísimo), me pareció la mejor opción.

Recomiendo para entrar en tema.

[Macoco G.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es mi primer libro sobre la Revolución Francesa, así que no tengo mucho con lo que comparar.
Libro corto que creo que puede servir de iniciación al conflicto. Eso sí, es totalmente partidista y en muchos momentos me daba la sensación de que se esforzaba por no condenar el Terror.

[Ivan Cañizares · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

Un muy buen libro sobre la Revolución Francesa y un revulsivo necesario (especialmente desde la historiografía británica) al revisionismo que lleva caracterizando su estudio desde finales de los setenta, bien usando los matices y las nuevas investigaciones para profundizar en sujetos que se habían dejado de lado hasta el momento, como las mujeres y los esclavos, así como la experiencia revolucionaria privinciana.

El principal punto en contra es que le he encontrado es su brevedad, que, en lo que parece un intento de acercar esta obra al público más generalista, da por sabidas demasiadas cosas, al menos en mi opinión, lo que lo alejan de ser una obra óptima de introducción. Aun así, el estilo de escritura, conciso y sin demasiadas florituras, permite que sea una lectura más bien ligera sin dejar de lado la rigurosidad.

Cabe mencionar que la traducción de la edición de Crítica consta de ciertos errores, que sin ser de especial gravedad, que deberían evitarse y que empañan la experiencia de lectura de una obra que no puedo sino recomendar.

[Nacho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro curioso sobre la Revolución Francesa empezando desde los años previos a la misma. Es evidente que Peter McPhee se ha documentado de sobra para este libro por las numerosas referencias y lo detallado de los datos.

Sin embargo, es más un libro para documentarse en detalle que para el disfrute del gran público: muchos conceptos se dan por sabidos, y grandes eventos históricos se despachan en una línea (la toma de la Bastilla, el intento de huida de Luis XVI, el arresto y ejecución de Robespierre), mientras que se dedican páginas y páginas a anécdotas de desobediencia o a números de producción agrícola o de comercio. Para alguien que sabía poco del tema puede ser difícil seguir los papeles que jugaron los diferentes personajes o la relevancia de ciertos cambios.

Aun así, no es difícil de leer (a pesar de la gran cantidad de datos).

En definitiva, lo he disfrutado pero no es un libro introductorio, que es lo que andaba buscando.

[Ash Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was way too condensed and had way too much information packed into one book. Not for a beginner in the French Revolution. Perhaps would have been easier to understand if I had know a little more about the French Revolution in the first place. However, I knew next to nothing and everything brought up and touched on in the book was new to me and so imagine reading about 4 entirely different stories on each page, each involving multiple characters. Was just difficult.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accessible & interesting. Especially good on questioning when the Revolution was over & how much control the main protagonists had over the events. Is it “forces” or personalities that dictate? It’s just laid out for you to make up your own mind.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I'm a year 12 studying revolutions) and as far as easy to read (and understand) historians texts, this is the best! It is easy to understand, and compared to the other major French Rev. historians, McPhee is the most interesting, and also more modern so you're not only having to try to comprehend what the french revolution was about, but also what the historians from 150 years ago were talking about ( :D). Despite only purchasing the book for quotes, I read it cover to cover because it was actually really interesting. I also felt like the book was written simply for taking quotes. Every second line is a viable quote that not only provides information about events, but also illustrates McPhee (revisionist) opinions. Speaking on behalf of a VCE student, this book really is fantastic!

[YZK · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book for an initiate to the history of the French Revolution. McPhee takes a social approach dealing with questions of peasant participation, war, emerging political ideologies, women's role and environmental impact. The book gives a survey of participation in and opposition to the Revolution by people living in various parts of France rather than focusing simply on Paris. It also brings to fore different expectations by different social classes across time and space rather than discussing solely the Enlightenment and the ruling groups of the capital.

It is condensed approach is accessible and enriched with a list of further reading in English.

[Hala A. Abbas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book! I read it as a part of Coursera’s “French revolution” course and I found it very informative, very easy to read and understand, the video lectures made it even easier to remember many of the details. As an absolute beginner in the subject, the book helped me grasp the main background of the events that I can now find my own way through other books about the subject with no big difficulty.

[Richard A · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ambitions of the French revolution are truly stunning in their scope: overthrow feudalism, remove the king and royalty, make all person equal citizens (no higher rights tot he aristocrats), abolish slavery, establish freedom of religion, force the Catholic clergy to renounce its allegiance to the Pope and Rome, create a standard system of weights and measurements, create a new calendar, make French the one language of the land, and much more. Some of these ambitions were met and were long-lasting; others were temporary or never occurred. Clearly, it is worth having some understanding of the revolution. I was somewhat disappointed with this book. After having read it, I'm still not sure why the revolt occurred when it did and where it did, Why France and not, say Spain or Italy? Why 1789 and not, say 1779? Why did much of the rest of Europe declare war on France in the midst of the revolution, and how is it that France was not overrun by its external enemies. Major actors are named only with their surname, for example, Lafayette and Robespierre. One particularly informative section that I did think was done very well was the wrap-up discussing the significance of the revolution to the future of France and Europe.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not clued up about the French Revolution, so this book was useful to me as an overview of the main events and issues. I don't feel qualified to make a judgement about the quality of the scholarship, but I did feel that the writer had included a wide range of opinions about social and cultural aspects as well as the role of women, which seemed to me interesting and informative.

[Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requiere ciertos conocimientos previos sobre los sucesos y el período, por lo que no funciona como libro de introducción. Aborda los hechos de forma cronológica y recupera algunos de los debates historiográficos en torno al proceso. Además, dedica varias páginas a analizar el accionar de las mujeres durante todos estos años.

[Alex Cortijo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro relativamente denso de leer, pero con una bibliografía increíble. Se nota el gran trabajo del autor. Muestra los distinto puntos de vista en relación a la revolución por parte de los historiadores a lo largo de la història. Muy educativo e ilustrativo.

[Susan Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the French Revolution, the economic, social and cultural factors, and a survey of various modern interpretations and controversies, offering a sympathetic and nuanced appreciation of the revolution and its continuing significance.

[Maximiliano Pérez Perdomo]

Estos tipos eran unos adelantados. Hicieron sangrar a la religión y a la monarquía antes de 1800!!!!! Es una locura ver cómo cosas, derechos, leyes y cuestiones que hoy damos por sentadas vienen de ahí. Todo (o casi todo) lo que vino después lo pelearon ellos primero.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as the textbook for my French Rev subject at uni which was, funnily enough, taken by McPhee himself.

[Juan Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Comprehensive and very easy to read —even for non-academic readers.

I read it along McPhee's MOOC on French Revolution.

[Cony · Rating 4 out of 5]

franceses culos rotos como vas a dejarte sublevar por dos primos incestuosos

[Alexander Rubins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too dense for 200 pages.

[Gonzalo Aguilar Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corto, claro, ilustrativo y entretenido.

[Agustín Best · Rating 4 out of 5]

excelente libro para introducirse a la historia de la revolución francesa.

[Miguel Fernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about the french revolution, i found it to be a good complement of other books i have read on the matter. I think the book is well reasearched but it uses the data inconsistently across the length of the book. The chapters about the old regime and the social and economic reasons that led to its fall are the ones i enjoyed the most. In them the author uses detailed research to place the reader in 1787-89 France and explains why the revolution came about. I think that as the book progresses the strenght of the narrative weakens and certain aspects of the revolution are not dealt with as much emphasis as they should. On the second half of the book i found myself skipping pages several times as details were either too deep and did not add much to the narrative, or some key aspects of the revolution were fastforwarded by the author (i.e how Robespierre came to power). This is a short book that helps a lot if you have read other authors and want to fill in some gaps, but if this were the only book i had ever read about the revolution it would have onlly left me semi-knowledgeable about this topic.

[Teresa R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buena lectura para alguien que no tenga un conocimiento muy amplio de la Revolución Francesa, aunque tampoco lo recomendaría como libro de iniciación.
Una muy buena introducción a la época previa a la Revolución, crucial para entender su impacto, aunque un poco más flojo en otras partes, como la época del Directorio hacia delante.
Recurre bastante a ejemplos locales, lo cual en ocasiones es interesante, pero a menudo se vuelve bastante tedioso para una lectura tan inicial y general como esta, que en mi opinión no está destinada a expertos en la materia.

No está mal, aunque me ha dejado con la sensación de que necesito recurrir a otras obras si de verdad quiero tener un conocimiento decente de la Revolución Francesa.

[Brad A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed and quite easy to read. McPhee gives a broad overview of the revolution and analyses its impact on French society. Packed with primary sources that help add context, although McPhee's focus on the big picture means he doesn't really spend much time looking at the characters of the revolution like Robespierre, Danton and Marat. The final chapter's discussion of historiography is essential for anyone studying the revolution.

Overall an excellent read that provides a solid primer to the French introduction.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the textbook for a course on the French revolution in which I am currently enrolled. The text is written at the undergraduate level and is easy to follow. The author includes extensive footnotes, bibliography, timelines, and maps in order to help amplify the text.

The book talks frankly about a difficult time in world history, and covers things that were glossed over in the more general classes I took.

Well done.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise history of the French Revolution by Peter McPhee, a historian at the University of Melbourne. I purchased this at the beginning of Professor McPhee's course on the French Revolution on Coursera. The book is readable and presents a variety of perspectives and interpretations. A good introduction to the topic.

[Juan Manuel Wills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un buen libro de texto y referencia sobre los orígenes, desarrollos y consecuencias de la revolución francesa que acompañado en conjunto con el curso del mismo nombre ofrecido en modalidad MOOC por la universidad de Melbourne y dictado por el autor conforman un excelente material introductorio sobre este apasionante tema.

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Succinct and informative, but nothing more. A basic textbook reading of the French Revolution.

Its main focus is the lead-up to and early events of the revolution. This is supposed to be a supplement to studies of the French Revolution, and is useful when read along with other sources.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating time in history. Read this book for college, and actually picked it up recently to read it again.

[Stanley Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed account of the French Revolution. An easy to read book for all who want to study this period in history of France. I enjoyed reading this book.