Customer Reviews

The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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For those interested in a brilliant overview of the French revolution, written concisely, combining narrative and competent analysis, including a comprehensive time line and a noteworthy bibliography, Doyle's A Very Short Introduction, is well worth your investment and time.

One of the more difficult writing tasks is to summarize an important and complicated historical event such as the French revolution, with any competence or erudition. Doyle's essay touches upon all aspects of the revolution's origins of development, including major personages, ideologies and significant events that contributed to its beginnings, processes and the revolution's present legacy in terms of its significant influence on society to present time.

In the first chapter, Echoes, Doyle proposes that one cannot look at France or visit the country without seeing some aspect of the revolution. The Eiffel Tower, for instance, was the centrepiece of the great exhibition that marked the first centenary in 1889. He continues,

"Nobody who lived in France, or visited it, could avoid these echoes, or echoes of Napoleon, who had marched under the tricolour, had tamed and harnessed the energies unleashed by the revolution, and whose nephew Napoleon III had ruled for 22 years before the Third Republic was established. (P.2)

Doyle tackles this project in six comprehensive chapters. "Echoes" - the influence of the revolution that can be seen in all aspects of society, socially and politically; "Why it Happened" - the wide and varied reasons as to why the revolution occurred; "How it Happened" - events such as the Reign of Terror, and the establishment of a National Sovereignty, the many reforms, civil war and the wars abroad, ending with the rise and influence of Napoleon the First; "What it Ended" - the Monarchy, the fall of the Nobility and the Church; "What it Started" - a democratic system, an assertion of National Sovereignty...."not kings, not hereditary elites, not churches were the supreme source of authority in human affairs." (P.81) And lastly, "Where it Stands" - how we view the revolution in present time, i.e., the classic interpretation, the revisionist and post revisionist interpretations, and its significance today.

If one were starting a comprehensive study of the French revolution, this comprehensive essay, a little over one hundred pages, would be an advisable place to begin. The literature on this subject is enormous, thus Doyle gives us a list of further reading from General Surveys, Origins, Interpretations to People and Legacies.

This little book is highly recommended for the student, amateur historian or the simply curious.

I majored in history in college, and already had learned a fair amount about the French Revolution, if mainly from it being mentioned peripherally in almost every course I took dealing with the period that came after the Revolution. So a lot of the names of the principal actors and the various groups like the sans-culottes and girondistes were already known to me beforehand.
Well, as some other reviewers have noted, the book gives the barest possible narrative outline of the Revolution itself, so if you're looking for a blow-by-blow account of what happened from, say 1789-1795, then go for Jeremy Popkin's book on the same topic.
Instead, this book offers an excellent overview of what the Revolutions more long-term effects were, and how the Revolution has been seen and imitated in the two centuries that have followed it. In the first chapter, it also discusses in brief the old regime that was replaced by the Revolution, detailing the weaknesses that led to its violent fall. Without this key introduction, the discussion following it would be acontextual and I found myself continually leafing back to it, particularly since I knew so little about the period before reading the book.
The bibliography provides a great guide to further readings.
In sum: the book is just what it says it is and couldn't be more concise or informative. Anyone who's heard the French Revolution being discussed, knows a little about European history already, and wants to know more about both is well-advised to try this book.

I easily concur with the previous reviews: this is an outstanding introductory text on the French Revolution. Of particular interest beyond the mere historical facts surrounding the revolution is Doyle's presentation on how the event has been interpreted over the past two centuries. The study of this book can easily result in derivative studies of Furet, Schama, and others. Not only a bargain pricewise, but a great presentation of a critical historic event in an exceptionally interesting and accessible structure. I have to say that I immensely enjoyed it.

Lets face it: many people cite the French Revolution as the source of innumerable subsequent political ideological movements, but when pressed, still have difficulty describing the essential elements and personages involved in the event. One likely cause for this phenomena is the tempting urge to "ape" the attributions and thoughts of others without a personal understanding of the subject matter -- the French Revolution has long since passed into a popular and iconographic status -- but another is surely the bewildering array of people surrounding the event, the requirement for a precursory understanding of the "Ancient Régime" to set the stage for the Revolution's appearance, and the sheer number of divergent events occuring once the event got started.

In this sense, Doyle's book well serves the introductory reader well by helping develop a foundational understanding of the French Revolution through its clear verbiage, introduction to personages, and its narrative timeline approach. The book, too, sets the stage for additional derivative studies (perhaps by using the popular works by Furet, Schama, and others) while still being able to stand on its own as a primer to the subject. Of particular note is Doyle's presentation on how the event has been divergently interpreted by historians over the past two centuries. One can certainly read this book in an evening or two if all that is wished is a highlight of the topic, but taking a bit longer to carefully examine and think about its content can yield great educational benefits.

In summary, not only is the text a bargain, but it provides a great "very short introduction" to a critical historic event in an exceptionally interesting and accessible structure. I have to say that I immensely enjoyed it.

This is a brief and insightful book on the French Revolution. It gives a good broad overview of the Revolution and its wider repercussions since then. The author did a commendable job of producing an excellent brief account which should suffice for those who need the basics and not interested in the details of the grisly executions, bloodletting and campaigns by French armies against the coalitions pitied against it.

For the veteran historians and others that are familiar with the French Revolution, the book is too brief. However, if the veteran is rusty and needs a good basic revision and reminder, then this book will do.

This is a recommended basic insight into the French Revolution which is well worth reading as this Revolution has had far reaching implications which are being felt up to this day.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wants to know about the French revolution but doesn't have a lot of time to spend on it. I read it while waiting between flights. Doyle is an excellent writer and the volume is very engrossing (good enough that I have subsequently checked out his full treatment of the revolution). He does a good job of covering all of the basics of the French revolution and warning readers where the shortfalls are in the book because it is a brief treatment. But what I really liked about the volume is his discussion where he looks at the French revolution as it is treated today and the 200th anniversary that occured just under a decade ago.
I highly recommend it.

Doyle's condensed version of the French Revolution is an excellent source for revisiting this period in history. Having majored in French Language 20 years ago, I am embarassed to admit both of how much I had forgotten and did not know of this event. Doyle's book is a wonderful work outlining the chronolgy, revealing the hows and whys, and most importantly discussing its value today. Its 135 pages are worth their weight in gold.

This is an excellent short introduction of the subject. Mr. Doyle has written several longer books about the French Revolution, but this VSI is not a condensed version of his other books. Instead, his approach to trace the origin, process, results, and impact of the event provides both a very clear flow of what has happened and why they are important. This is probably required reading if you want to get a basic understanding of the subject, and provide a framework for more details on its different aspects.

I found this Very Short Introduction to be accurate, informative, and written in an interesting and readable style....This book fulfills admirably the series goal of providing solid, lucid introductions to topics without being simplistic...I think readers already familiar with the history and events of the French Revolution will enjoy the author's style and modern day perspective on this historic event...

I wanted to learn about the French Revolution in a few days and this little gem was just the tool to do it. It's a very small book, but it provides an excellent summary of the who was involved, the causes, what happened to whom, and the outcome. Highly recommended for those who are looking for a brief overview of the subject.