The Oxford History of the French Revolution

The Oxford History of the French Revolution
by William Doyle

The Oxford History of the French Revolution
List Price: $22.99
Our Price: $13.05
You Save: $9.94 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.95 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: William Doyle
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-08-28
ISBN: 019925298X
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Book Reviews of The Oxford History of the French Revolution

Book Review: Comprehensive and Insightful
Summary: 5 Stars


"The Oxford History of the French Revolution", by William Doyle is among the best books that I have read on the French Revolution. It is comprehensive (some would say it is dense) and covers in about 420 pages all the most important events of the Revolution. The author tells the chilling story of the French Revolution, stressing the roles of the leading characters that shaped events during this period. Among these people were Robespierre, Murat, Danton, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte and others as well as the external and internal forces that were attempting to crash the Revolution.

The book gives a grim account of the complete and utter chaos of the time, including the dreadful description of how things went out of hand, the reign of terror, senseless executions including the beheading of the King and Queen of France. The shocking mistakes, for example with respect to the Catholic Church, and the attempt to establish a State sponsored church are highlighted. One gets the feel of the impact of mob rule and what happens in the absence of the rule of law.

William Doyle meticulously researched the book resulting in a minefield of information that students of the French Revolution will find useful and important. The book is full of non-stop action.

This is a well written book that is interesting to read. Those who wish to get a comprehensive study of the French Revolution should enjoy reading this book. However, the book is too long for someone without previous knowledge of the French Revolution.


Summary of The Oxford History of the French Revolution

This second edition of the most authoritative and comprehensive history of the French Revolution draws on a wealth of new research in order to reassess the greatest of all revolutions. It includes a generous chronology of events and an extended bibliographical essay providing an examination of the historiography of the Revolution. Beginning with the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, leading historian William Doyle traces the history of France through revolution, terror, and counter-terror, to the triumph of Napoleon in 1802, along the way analyzing the impact of these events in France upon the rest of Europe. He explores how a movement which began with optimism and general enthusiasm soon became a tragedy, not only for the ruling orders, but for millions of ordinary people all over Europe who paid the price for the destruction of the old political order and the struggle to establish a new one.
Highly readable and meticulously researched, The Oxford History of the French Revolution will provide new insight into one of the most important events in European history.

France Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in France Books
Paris journal (A Harvest book ; HB 360) ImageParis journal (A Harvest book ; HB 360)
by Janet Flanner
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Published: 1977; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.00
Down and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics) ImageDown and Out in Paris and London (Penguin Modern Classics)
by George Orwell
Penguin Group(CA); Published: 2001-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.32
Price in other shops: $19.75
Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grand Armee ImageSwords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grand Armee
by John R. Elting
Free Press; Published: 1988-08-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $54.04
Madame De Pompadour ImageMadame De Pompadour
by Christine P Algrant
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-07-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.30
Lost King of France ImageLost King of France
by Deborah Cadbury
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-10-21; Audio Cassette; Book
Lost King of France, The: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII ImageLost King of France, The: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII
by Deborah Cadbury
Fourth Estate Ltd; Published: 2002; Paperback; Book
Foreign Field ImageForeign Field
by Ben MacIntyre
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.70
The French ImageThe French
by Theodore Zeldin
The Harvill Press; Published: 1983-01-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.95
The Napoleonic Wars (Cassell History of Warfare) ImageThe Napoleonic Wars (Cassell History of Warfare)
by Gunther Rothenberg
Cassell; Published: 1999-12-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.94
Price in other shops: $29.95
Eiffel's Tower: The Thrilling Story Behind Paris's Beloved Monument and theExtraordinary World's Fair That Introduced It ImageEiffel's Tower: The Thrilling Story Behind Paris's Beloved Monument and theExtraordinary World's Fair That Introduced It
by Jill Jonnes
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2010-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.16
Price in other shops: $16.00
Similar Books and other products
Inventing Human Rights: A History ImageInventing Human Rights: A History
by Lynn Hunt
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2008-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.55
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Princesse de Cleves (Penguin Classics) ImageThe Princesse de Cleves (Penguin Classics)
by Madame de Lafayette
Penguin Classics; Published: 1992-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops: $13.00
The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France ImageThe Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France
by David Andress
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2006-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops: $18.00
The French Revolution: A Document Collection ImageThe French Revolution: A Document Collection
by Laura Mason, Tracey Rizzo
Wadsworth Publishing; Published: 1998-12-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.02
Price in other shops: $75.95
The Old Regime and the French Revolution ImageThe Old Regime and the French Revolution
by Alexis de Tocqueville
Anchor; Published: 1983-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops: $15.00
The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It ImageThe First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It
by David A. Bell
Mariner Books; Published: 2008-01-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops: $15.95
The Social Contract (Penguin Classics) ImageThe Social Contract (Penguin Classics)
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Penguin Classics; Published: 1968-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: $9.00
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) ImageThe French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
by William Doyle
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-12-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.06
Price in other shops: $11.95
The Days of the French Revolution ImageThe Days of the French Revolution
by Christopher Hibbert
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 1999-06-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops: $16.99
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution ImageCitizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
by Simon Schama
Vintage; Published: 1990-03-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.95
Price in other shops: $32.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories