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The Coming of the French Revolution remains essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of this great turning point in the formation of the modern world. First published in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, and suppressed by the Vichy government, this classic work explains what happened in France in 1789, the first year of the French Revolution. Georges Lefebvre wrote history "from below"a Marxist approach. Here, he places the peasantry at the center of his analysis, emphasizing the class struggles in France and the significant role they played in the coming of the revolution.Eloquently translated by the historian R. R. Palmer and featuring an introduction by Timothy Tackett that provides a concise intellectual biography of Lefebvre and a critical appraisal of the book, this Princeton Classics edition continues to offer fresh insights into democracy, dictatorship, and insurrection.
Introduction by Timothy Tackett vii
Note to the Princeton Classic Edition xxxi
From the Translator's 1988 Preface xxxiii
Prologue 1
PART I: THE ARISTOCRATIC REVOLUTION
Chapter 1: The Aristocracy 7
Chapter 2: The Crisis of the Monarchy 21
PART II: THE BOURGEOIS REVOLUTION
Chapter 3: The Bourgeoisie 39
Chapter 4: The First Victory of the Bourgeoisie 49
Chapter 5: The Estates-General 73
PART III: THE POPULAR REVOLUTION
Chapter 6: The Mobilization of the Masses 93
Chapter 7: The Paris Revolution of July 14 108
Chapter 8: The Municipal Revolutions in the Provinces 121
PART IV: THE PEASANT REVOLUTION
Chapter 9: The Peasantry 129
Chapter 10: The Agrarian Revolts and the Great Fear 142
PART V: THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZEN
Chapter 11: The Problem of the Privileges 153
Chapter 12: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen 167
PART VI: THE OCTOBER DAYS
Chapter 13: The Revolutionary Solution in the Balance 183
Chapter 14: The Popular Agitation 190
Chapter 15: The October Days: Confirmation by Violence 196
Description
The Coming of the French Revolution remains essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of this great turning point in the formation of the modern world. First published in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, and suppressed by the Vichy government, this classic work explains what happened in France in 1789, the first year of the French Revolution. Georges Lefebvre wrote history "from below"a Marxist approach. Here, he places the peasantry at the center of his analysis, emphasizing the class struggles in France and the significant role they played in the coming of the revolution.Eloquently translated by the historian R. R. Palmer and featuring an introduction by Timothy Tackett that provides a concise intellectual biography of Lefebvre and a critical appraisal of the book, this Princeton Classics edition continues to offer fresh insights into democracy, dictatorship, and insurrection.
