Contesting the French Revolution

Few events in history have generated as much scholarly work as the French Revolution, and lively and often emotional debates about is origins and meaning continue to this day.

Contesting the French Revolution presents an overview of what led up to this pivotal event, the turning points that shaped it, and its far-reaching effects, as well as examining the most significant historiographical debates about this period. Were the events of 1789 a social revolution or a political accident? Did they mark the rise of industrial capitalism or the birth of modern democracy? Was the Reign of Terror a response to foreign war and domestic resistance or the product of Jacobin ideology? Was Napoleon Bonaparte an heir to the ideals of 1789 or a betrayer of the Revolution? In this impressive evaluation of La Révolution Paul Hanson offers an engaging analysis of these debates, showing us how historical interpretation of the French Revolution has been influenced by the changing political and social currents of the last 200 years – from the Russian Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall.