Becoming a Revolutionary: The Deputies of the French National Assembly and the Emergence of a Revolutionary Culture, 1789-1790

Princeton Legacy Library

by Timothy Tackett

Timothy Tackett's Becoming a Revolutionary revisits one of the most controversial moments in the beginning of the French Revolution. How did it arise? Why did French men and women become revolutionaries? To answer these questions, Tackett focuses on the experiences of the 1200 members of the first French National Assembly. Drawing upon on a wide range of sources, including contemporary letters and diaries, Tackett shows that the deputies were a group of practical men, whose ideas were governed more by concrete subjects than by abstract philosophy. Though it may seem surprising now, most of the deputies were actually in support of the king. Instead of being initiated as a result of a specific ideology founded on Enlightenment principles, the ideas that eventually led to the French Revolution were, instead, a direct result of the actual process of the Assembly. First published in 1996 and hailed as an 'exemplary product of the historian's craft,' Becoming a Revolutionary is now available in paperback for the first time.

Genres: History, French Revolution, Nonfiction, France, 18th Century, Politics

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[n · Rating 2 out of 5]

The readability of this book is... minimal. If you've ever wondered what an inventory (or a budget, a list of quotes, or a CV/resume) would look like if someone had turned it into a narrative, it would be this. It becomes cumbersome to even focus as you're told the individual wealth of each deputy, of their so-called qualifications, of their (possible) relationship to either Rousseau or Voltaire... It's exhausting, and it would make a great case study of why historians should learn to write for an audience (and I'm saying this as someone who also studied and taught history).

It's frustrating because a lot of the information could be interesting, but you have to slog through a lot of stuff that could've been better outlined as a table or a chart.

[Jim Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Tackett takes us into the hearts and minds of the deputies to France’s Estates General in 1789 through their personal correspondences and memoirs. By tapping into these primary sources, he traced the mood swings and intricate political maneuvering that resulted in the formation of the National Assembly on June 17 of that year. These sources carry us through the tumultuous events that eventually led to the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic.

[Andrea Samorini]

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FROM BOOK: Un nuovo mondo inizia: La storia della Rivoluzione francese (Jeremy D. Popkin)

[WuyaNoodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is necessary for everyone who wants to truly understand the French Revolution.

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good study on the very early stages of the French Revolution. Tackett provides a detailed study on the deputies gathered in the assembly and how these men, none of whom really wanted to over throw the ancien regime when first gathered ended up ushering in the most radical revolution the world had seen up to that point. Good if you're interested in the revolution, and if you're interested in how the lack of a good strong leader ( which Louis XVI was not)can lead to very bad things. If you're looking for a general survey of the revolution, skip this book. It's very detailed as I said before, and not targeted at addressing general questions regarding the revolution .