The Unruly City: London, Paris, and New York in the Age of Revolution

by Mike Rapport

In The Unruly City, historian Mike Rapport offers a vivid history of three intertwined cities toward the end of the eighteenth century—Paris, London, and New York—all in the midst of political chaos and revolution. From the British occupation of New York during the Revolutionary War, to agitation for democracy in London and popular uprisings, and ultimately regicide in Paris, Rapport explores the relationship between city and revolution, asking why some cities engender upheaval and some suppress it.

Why did Paris experience a devastating revolution while London avoided one? And how did American independence ignite activism in cities across the Atlantic? Rapport takes readers from the politically charged taverns and coffeehouses on Fleet Street, through a sea battle between the British and French in the New York Harbor, to the scaffold during the Terror in Paris.

The Unruly City shows how the cities themselves became protagonists in the great drama of revolution

Genres: History, Nonfiction, New York, Politics, France, American Revolution, World History

364 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

Mike Rapport is a senior lecturer in history at the University of Stirling, in Scotland, where he teaches European history.

He is author of 1848: Year of Revolution (Basic Books, 2009), Nineteenth-Century Europe, 1789-1914 (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2005), Nationality and Citizenship in Revolutionary France: The Treatment of Foreigners (Oxford, 2000). He also has a volume forthcoming on The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2013).

He was elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2000. With his colleague, Dr. Kevin Adamson, he is working on a research project on the "domino revolutions" from 1848 to the Arab Awakening of 2011.

Mr. Rapport earned his undergraduate degree in history at the University of Edinburgh and his doctorate, on the French Revolution, at the University of Bristol.

Reviews

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Unruly City' (2017). People rarely gift me books these days, I suppose because I am a little particular about books (and make-up). But this one was a gift from my Ethiopian comrade B. and I f loved it. So, thanks, dude.
Few things are more interesting than how power and ideology imprint themselves on cities and architecture (hence my obsession with the aesthetics of Pyongyang/ North Korean iconography more broadly).
The book is about how the three cities of Paris, London and New York became sites of struggle and physical transformation in a revolutionary age - New York 1765-1783, Paris 1776-1789 and (not so revolutionary) London 1763-1792 (or so, since the 'actual' English revolution took place a century earlier). As somebody whose knowledge of pre-19th century europe and colonies is rather superficial, bordering shameful, this is a great read regardless of the book's particular focus on the role of public spaces and social networks in the various revolutionary settings. It's a little 'duh' but I wasn't quite aware of how much the politics and related discourses in each of the cities influenced each other.

In an interview for the NYT Book Review, the author said that he has spent many years in each of the three cities and I guess it would indeed add to the joy of reading this book if one was a little more familiar with the topography of the cities than I am.
Still, a very well researched read on 'ordinary folks'' lived experience of revolutions, in the taverns and on the streets.

[Ray LaManna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has opened my eyes to the power which urban location and geography had on the great revolutions in London, New York and Paris from around 1760-1795. The proximity of neighborhoods of different classes of citizens had profound effects in New York and Paris. The author contends that London, however, resisted revolution and upheaval because neighborhoods were segregated by rigid class distinctions and people rarely interacted in that era.

Quite a good examination of urban life and revolution in the pre-twitter era.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rapport seems torn in relation to his own thesis about the relationship between the topographies of each city (both social and physical) and revolution. At the end of many chapters he says "yes" but "maybe no." It left me confused about his argument. He wants to pull the chapters together into a coherent argument but is not so sure about the argument itself

[Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense but fast history of the late 18th century concentrating on the way in which geography and architecture (and people's use of that space) influences the amount and kind of change possible. While the author does include some information about how women were involved in the process, especially at the beginning of the book, this falls away during some of the later chapters, especially the chapters on London. The London chapters also are the weakest, but then again it's about what isn't happening rather than what is.
For a book about space, the maps could be better. In my Kindle edition they also ended up being tiny and I more often than not relied on Google maps for a better sense of the geography.

[WaldenOgre · Rating 4 out of 5]

作者试图通过城市空间的争夺和变迁这个微观而新颖的切入点，来追踪乃至部分解释纽约、伦敦和巴黎三座城市在那个风起云涌的时代里的历史轨迹。虽然这个切入点在解释的层面上有时会略微显得有些勉强，以至于缺乏足够的说服力。但在追踪的层面上，确实带来了一些在传统的宏观视角下容易被忽略的发现。除此之外，如果一位当代的历史爱好者凭着这些城市空间的线索去踏访这三座城市的话，想必也会是一趟有趣的旅行吧。

[Bill Lucey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Rapport, author of “1848: Year of Revolution’’ delivers a wonderfully constructed examination of three cultural centers of the world: New York, Paris, and London, during the 18th century, each in its own way struggling for democracy.

Newspapers and coffee houses in London, free press in Paris in 1789, and freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment in the United States is just one of the common threads that unities three of these flourishing metropolises.

Why Paris plunged into revolution, while London avoided it during a time of “revolutionary turmoil and revolutionary fervor” is abundantly explored by Rapport, professor of Modern European history at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
--Bill Lucey

[Sean Magee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little high brow for what I normally read. I nearly stopped reading it after the first half hour or so. But then I decided to give it a go. I walk to work because of the coronavirus and I have to listen to something, so you know.

I've been listening to quite a bit of history lately (see The Impeachers and When The Irish Invaded Canada) and I thought something about three major cities during the period of 1750-1799 or so sounded appealing. I wasn't let down. Like I said, it is a little high brow and academic but it is a rewarding read for anyone interested in urban sociology and policitcs, the American Revolution, the French Revolution or the struggle for democracy in the second half of the 18th century.

[Sean Patrick Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is a book good if it doesn't succeed at its primary goal?
It's well written, well researched, and pretty easy to sit through. But Rapport's primary goal is to tie the revolutionary events of New York, Paris and London to the physical locations in which they occur. Only I don't feel this ultimately adds a whole lot to the experience. I love architecture, preservation and exploring the locations of history, but I don't think it added much to the lessons of the book.
So you're left with a pretty good recap and comparison of the three cities, and not much more. If that's what you're looking for, then this will be a good choice.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author looks at the 18th century revolutions in the United States, France, and Britain (not technically a revolution) from the point of view of the geography of New York, Paris, and London. It is an interesting approach that is only somewhat successful. Certainly the geography of the cities influenced the protagonists, but I am unconvinced that events would have occurred differently given a different stage. Choosing New York rather than Boston was an interesting choice, again, not one that makes the most sense. Certainly the geography of Boston--being a harbor--would have worked in this context as well.

However, the author makes many interesting points about the day-to-day events of each revolution, including how one (the U.S.) inspired the French, and how the British were likewise inspired to seek more rights. Looking at the revolutionary period is also compelling, rather than focused on one event.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looks at London, Paris, and New York during the American and French revolutions during the late 18th century. It is an interesting approach, but I found the book a little hard to follow. The author describes in great detail how the cities looked at the time, but obviously there are no photographs that are that old. I think it might have been improved if the author had drawn some maps to illustrate his points. I thought his arguments about how the revolutions impacted the built environments in the various cities were good, but it was hard to visualize, since all three cities have changed significantly since the 18th century.

[Chris Csergei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a good book that I enjoyed. I don't think Rapport really proved that the architect and structure of these cities really played a pivotal role in the revolutions that did or did not happen in them. That being said, by focusing on the cities themselves, there are a lot of people and events this books covers that are often left out of general histories of the American and French revolutions. For that very fact alone I found the book worth ready, especially when looking at the changes in the people that lived in New York during the revolution, occupation and peace.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I plowed through this book. It does a great job asserting a thesis and supporting it throughout the book, namely that the locations, structures, and buildings in the 3 different cities became important symbols for revolutionaries. The author also compared and contrasted the effect that revolution had on each of the cities, and why those differences existed. Additionally, as someone who needs to hear something a couple of times before it really sinks in, I appreciated the reiteration of major takeaways at the end of each chapter, and at the end of the book as a whole.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating examination of how the physical makeup of cities impacted the Age of Revolution. The book placed an interesting new lens on well established historical facts and provided a deeper understanding of what occurred in New York during the revolution. The book also included an excellent examination of what aspects of each society either led to or prevented revolution. Overall an enjoyable read.

[Teele Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book on revolution from Dr. Rapport. This time he takes us through the three major cities of the West and shows how the landscape of the city both shaped and was shaped by radicalism and revolutionary experience. While he treads familiar ground with the American and French Revolutions, Rapport interweaves the cities as they experience tumult from within and without. Definitely worth a read

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed discussion of how the cityscapes and urban politics of New York, London and Paris affected the response of those cities to revolutionary rhetoric. Parts seemed original and interesting and parts seemed repetitive of material others have covered better. The narrative was not compelling but the scholarship is solid.

[Judith]

Paris, London and New York are pictured as intertwined during the age of revolution. It explores the different ways the cities and populations responded to revolutionary events and the reactions to events in the 18th and 19th centuries that affected all three but in vastly different ways. A terrific book.

[Mike Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read to see that one out of the three mega cities, London, avoided a revolution completely due in part to segregation and social stratum. Neighbouring proximity and class struggle was unavoidable for the two, Paris and New York, that ultimately wrote the history books on revolution. 3.5/5

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study of the three "megacities" of the late eighteenth century.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author succinctly covers each of these Cities
with episodic nuggets of historical import--

[Carmen Montero · Rating 4 out of 5]

the courage behind deciding to revolutionize is sort of mind blowing. the thesis on location causing revolutions felt weak.

[Tom Niebergall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing concept but truly understanding relationships,need to listen numerous times. Or structure needs help.

[molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5.

[Elameno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores how geography and the use of public and institutional spaces impacted and guided events in Paris, London, and New York in the late 1700s.

It's an interesting mix of social history, anecdotes to entertain, and geographical history of the respective cities. It's well written and kept me engaged. I learned plenty.

[Mills College Library]

944.04 R2216 2017