The French Revolution: From its Origins to 1793 (Routledge Classics) 2nd Edition

by Georges Lefebvre (Author)

25 ratings

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Georges Lefebvre Paperback
$21.39
Get it Jul 18 - 22 FREE Shipping
In stock.
Usually ships within 2 to 3 days.
Ships from and sold by Book Depository US.
by Georges Lefebvre Paperback
$40.00
Get it as soon as Thursday, Jul 14 FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
by Simon Schama Paperback
$12.94
Get it as soon as Thursday, Jul 14 FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Similar books based on genre

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is more than a history of the French Revolution. It covers all of Europe during the revolutionary period…it also breaks new ground in its account of international relations, and sets the wars of intervention in their true light.' -A.J.P. Taylor

About the Author

Georges Lefebvre (1877-1959) French historian and member of the influential Annales School of historical thought. He held the chair of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne and was Director of the Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0415253934
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 2nd edition (May 18, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780415253932
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415253932
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.91 x 7.79 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,703,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,813 in European History (Books)
- #9,261 in French History (Books)
- #124,207 in World History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
25 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Georges Lefebvre

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Products related to this item
Sponsored Hide feedback

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1

Customer reviews

5 star		79%
4 star		7%
3 star		6%
2 star		7%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Christopher Henrich

Switcheroo.

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

I was sent the wrong book. Lefebvre's history of the French Revolution is in two volumes, and I wanted to buy the first: subtitled "From its Origins to 1793." Look closely at your picture of the dust jacket, and note its subtitle: "From 1793 to 1799." And that's what I got.

I ended up buying the really first volume through ABE Books.

All this aside, Lefebvre's work seems to me an admirable, fairly concise, explanation of that very complicated and very important event.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Matthew Sutton

Whenevr I feel like rocking the French Revolution, I rock this imminently readable two-volume set

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2012

Verified Purchase

If you're new to the Revolution, I'd skip ol' Michelet and make a bee-line to Lefebvre's opus. It's an excellent history that remains comprehensive while managing a lively pace throughout.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Pete

Good but assumes you already know much

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book describes the French Revolution in great detail. Lefebvre describes all of the various factions and their actions. He also describes the actions of the opponents of the Revolution whom were practically all of Europe. This book is never boring and is less than 300 pages.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Vania

A hard read

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017

Lefebvre's scholarship is indisputable, and his history of the French Revolution has a very wide horizen. However, this book is not only unfriendly to complete newcomers, but also hard to read even to readers who already have some knowledge of the Revolution (I am no expert, but I have read some five books about it). Many names and things are refered to without any introduction, leaving me often reading paragraphs upon paragraphs without knowing what the author is talking about.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alfred Johnson

IN THE TIME OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2006

This year marks the 217th anniversary of the beginning of the Great French Revolution with storming of the Bastille on July 14th. An old Chinese Communist leader, the late Zhou Enlai, was once asked by a reporter to sum up the important lessons of the French Revolution. In reply he answered that it was too early to tell what those lessons might be. Whether that particular story is true or not it does contain one important truth. Militants today at the beginning of the 21st century can still profit from reading the history of that revolution.

Professor Lefebvre's two volume account of that revolution is still a good place to start. Although scholarship on various aspects of the French Revolution has mushroomed since his books first appeared, especially around the time of the 200th anniversary of the revolution, most of that work has been very specialized. After over 40 years these volumes still set the standard for a general overview of the convulsions of French and European society before the rise of the Napoleonic period.

The French Revolution, like its predecessor the American Revolution, is covered with so much banal ceremony, flag- waving, unthinking sunshine patriotism and hubris it is hard to see the forest for the trees. The Bastille action while symbolically interesting is not where the real action took place nor was it politically the most significant event. For militants that comes much later with the rise of the revolutionary tribunals and the Committee of Public Safety under the leadership of the left Jacobins Robespierre and Saint Just. Their overthrow in 1794 by more moderate members of their own party, in what is known as the Thermidorian reaction, stopped the forward progression of the revolution although it did not return it back to the old feudal society. The forces unleashed by the revolution, especially among the land hungry peasantry, made that virtually impossible. In short, as has happened before in revolutionary history, the people and programs which supported the forward advancement of the revolution ran out of steam. The careerists, opportunists and those previously standing on the sidelines took control until they too ran out of steam. Not for the first or last time, the precarious balance of the different forces in society clashed and called out for a strongman. Napoleon was more than willing to be obliging when that time came.

The values of the Enlightenment- the believe that human beings can more or less rationally order the way they organize society in the interest of social justice and human dignity, are under extreme attack today. These Enlightenment values are reflected in the successes and failures of the French revolution. So what can militants of the 21st century gather from those tumultuous experiences as we try to extend the gains of that revolution and defend Enlightenment values against the `bully boys and girls' of this world? The most obvious is that the very fact of the French revolution changed the whole nature of political discourse by the creation of a civil society. Today, that task may seem of little importance. However, at the time the vast majority of the population was treated by the old regime as a brute, silent herd. And was suppose to like it, to boot! Seem familiar.

The French Revolution also highlights the need to defend the revolution against both active internal counterrevolutionary elements of the old regime and foreign powers opposed to the new order, the new way of doing business in society. This necessity also occurred previously in the English revolution where continental powers allied with segments of the old royal establishment tried to use Ireland and Scotland as bases to return the Stuarts. Later, in the Russian revolution that same phenomenon occurred with the White Guards and a seemingly world-wide array of hostile powers. In short, the old order will not give up without a fight. We should have that lesson etched in our brains.

Probably the greatest service that Professor Lefebvre provides in his volumes is to encourage an understanding of the above-mentioned relationship of forces. That is, the policies of the various post-1989 governments in reaction to the various forces in Europe, particularly but not exclusively the British, that most certainly were trying overthrow the revolution and either return to the previous status quo or make France a subordinate client state. In fact, this writer argues that one cannot understand French domestic governmental policy in this period without an understanding of that interconnectedness. The various revolutionary governmental forms, culminating with the Committee of Public Safety under Robespierre, were increasingly charged with defense of the revolution by putting France on a multi-front war footing. That meant both raising troops, one way or another, and assuring the support of the sans-culottes and small peasant landowners by appropriate measures. Whether those governments did that well or poorly is up to the reader to decide. In any case, thanks Professor Lefebvre.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Is it a turmoil? No, Your Majesty: It's a revolution!

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2009

Written at the 150th anniversary of the bloody event that determined a true twist of fate in the contemporary history, the famous essay of Georges Lefebre meant for many the most comprehensive essay about this candent subject.

Lefebre, an erudite whose sympathy for the Marxism was part of the public domain, made - despite his personal vision - a well detailed process of fragmentation. Like a brilliant surgeon, his pen is a scalpel that dissects the French Revolution in several parts , classified as it follows:

A)The Aristocratic Revolution describes the position of the noblesse and the church by then, the crisis of the monarchy through which details with fluidity the denudated efforts of Necker and Calonne in order to reestablish the financial deficit of 126 millions of francs and the clash of trains this posture meant for them against the weakness of character and lack of vision of Louis XVI and the rest of his Ministers.

B)The Bourgeoise Revolution, his rise and decisive participation in these crucial events.

C)The Popular Revolution which depicts the bloody events that surrounded the previous days of the fatidic July 14yh 1989, as well as the Municipal Revolution at the Provinces .

D)The Rural revolution

E)The Night of August 4th and the declaration of the Human Rights and the Citizen.

F) October journeys

And finally an invaluable Post face of Albert Soboul.

Acquire this fundamental essay whether or not you agree with his political position.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

G Farrell

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great book. excellent condition.

Joana Valente

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

Amazing!

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very good condition!

John H. Williams

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent book worth every penny to a serious student

Pauca

I love il !

Reviewed in France on September 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

C'est plus qu'une histoire de la Révolution Française ; c'est la description de l'ensemble de l'Europe pendant la période révolutionnaire (...) - dit A.J.P.Taylor dans sa présentation du livre de Georges Lefebre, et on est entièrement d'accord ! Merci pour cet envoi rapide !

Translate review to English

See all reviews

The French Revolution: From its Origins to 1793 (Routledge Classics) 2nd Edition

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Frequently bought together

Similar books based on genre

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Georges Lefebvre

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries