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The French Revolution: A History (Modern Library Classics) Paperback – May 14, 2002

by Thomas Carlyle (Author), John D. Rosenberg (Introduction)

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The book that established Thomas Carlyle’s reputation when first published in 1837, this spectacular historical masterpiece has since been accepted as the standard work on the subject. It combines a shrewd insight into character, a vivid realization of the picturesque, and a singular ability to bring the past to blazing life, making it a reading experience as thrilling as any novel. As John D. Rosenberg observes in his Introduction, The French Revolution is “one of the grand poems of [Carlyle’s] century, yet its poetry consists in being everywhere scrupulously rooted in historical fact.”

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Editorial Reviews

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“No novelist has made his creations live for us more thoroughly than Carlyle has made the men of the French Revolution.” —George Eliot

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t established Thomas Carlyles reputation when first published in 1837, this spectacular historical masterpiece has since been accepted as the standard work on the subject. It combines a shrewd insight into character, a vivid realization of the picturesque, and a singular ability to bring the past to blazing life, making it a reading experience as thrilling as any novel. As John D. Rosenberg observes in his Introduction, The French Revolution is one of the grand poems of [Carlyles] century, yet its poetry consists in being everywhere scrupulously rooted in historical fact.

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition, complete and unabridged, is unavailable anywhere else.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Series: Modern Library Classics
Paperback: 848 pages
Publisher: Modern Library; Modern Library edition (May 14, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375760229
ISBN-13: 978-0375760228
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.7 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 47 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #28 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Ancient & Medieval Literature > Ancient & Classical
- #1991 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

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James M. Rawley

One of the greatest history books ever

October 16, 2010

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Bob-Blair.org has an amazing annotated copy of THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Working through its first chapters, I find that the first chapter requires a fairly good knowledge of Louis XV's reign, which Wikipedia or Bob Blair's site can give you.

The next chapters are absolutely lucid, and state clearly and repeatedly that the great causes of the French Revolution are the decline of the nobility, the exploitation of the poor, and a general atmosphere of skepticism. Loss of belief, Carlyle says, leads to an outbreak of the diabolical in human beings.

Dickens got almost all his feeling for the French Revolution from Carlyle's history. In their time the revolution was no farther away than World War Two is from us, which means they had a good general feel for it. Even at our present distance, it's not that tough to read Carlyle -- and his main points, rather than being hidden as some reviewers have said, are virtually screamed at the reader over and over again.

Those who call his writing stilted don't know what "stilted" means. It means pompous and over-formal. Carlyle coined words and wrote the kind of wild poetry that influenced Melville in his MOBY DICK. That's not stilted. Calling it stilted is like calling a rock star soft.

It is a poetic style, for sure. The Modern Library introducer compares it with Milton's. He also calls the book a kind of epic. If you don't like epic poetry, don't read Carlyle. He won't miss you; I won't miss you; and you'll be so much happier wherever you end up.

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Michael Pappie

... because I consider him to be one of the greatest writers of his Age

March 15, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I don’t consider myself equal to the task of writing a review of Carlyle’s works simply because I consider him to be one of the greatest writers of his Age; second perhaps only to Edmund Burke. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that plumbing these depths is a challenge. However I will scribble a few notes here for anyone wishing to brave these waters and start off by admitting that for the layman and others such as myself, finishing the book from cover to cover can be a daunting task. However, if you set your sails aright, despite the obstacles, it can prove a most rewarding venture. Strenuous.. maybe- Arduous.. a little.. But well worth the effort. To be sure, the reader will encounter a vast array of names and places that will sound foreign to his ear; players and actors who have long since left the world stage. Despite time and history having buried many of these names beneath her proud waves these waters are still navigable

Alex de Tocqueville wrote that: “The American Revolution was caused by a mature and thoughtful taste for freedom. No disorderly passions drove it. On the contrary, it proceeded hand in hand with a love of order and legality”. Not so the French Revolution. It was sudden, violent and unforgiving. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives. And the way they were murdered (there is no other name for it) was particularly cruel, brutal and vicious. The bodies of victims were often mutilated and dismembered; heads stuck on the end of pikes and paraded through towns and cities. Hundreds of priests were tied up and put on boats; the boats then deliberately and purposely sunk; all drowned- there were no survivors (Pg. 691). The Tannery in Meudon where the flaying, butchering and skinning of human corpses (both men and woman) took place (Pg. 712) for making breeches, pants, and clothing. Gruesome and horrifically evil, but true. Apparently, the Nazis weren’t first to find new uses for human skin. And (if you have the stomach for it) you can do an internet search on Princess de Lamballe. The actual details of her murder were so unspeakable that Carlyle refused to commit them to writing.
Like Arjuna who looked with unshielded eyes into the mouth of Krishna before the battle of Kurukshetra and saw worlds and universes unfold before him; so too Carlyle looks into the maw of the French Revolution. Carlyle takes up the challenge by asking what exactly the French Revolution was all about? What did it all mean? What did it signify? How is it to be interpreted? Do we even have (he asks) the tools to dare attempt an interpretation? In the end, Carlyle neither accuses or excuses the French Revolution; he attempts to write about an event and phenomena that even today historians are still debating.
When we look back over all the carnage and the tragic divulsions.. When the dead are all buried and time has bound and healed at least some of the injustices which took place.. When we add it all up and ask ourselves almost 200 years later what it all meant we are still no closer to a final answer than when Thomas Carlyle first took pen in hand, sat down, and began to write..the story of..The French Revolution.
.

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February 15, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great history of the revolution. The king's great escape - dilly dally until he was caught. Waste time
putting in a wine cask in the wagon, and an elaborate picnic set. Nobel guy says -Let them eat grass.
He was hung up on a streetlight and had grass shoved down his throat. The Queen was also out of
the real world - no sense of money, or hunger. Compares well with Dickens "Tale of Two Cities".

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Most recent customer reviews

R.Tim O'Flaherty

One of the best books I have ever read.

To begin, if you are looking for an easy read this isn't it. If you are seeking knowledge and understanding about the French Revolution there is a wealth of it here but it...Read more

Published 1 month ago

AZ Reader

Unreadable

This book is unreadable. Written in a style that to me was incomprehensible. It is supposed to be a grand "poem" of the revolution.Read more

Published 4 months ago

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Great product.

Published 9 months ago

Wesley G. Skogan

I had read this was good, but it was not

written in a now-abandoned style, combining the author's flights of fancy with actual facts. I had read this was good, but it was not.

Published 10 months ago

Kindle Customer

The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle

Great history from which many lessons for today's problems The French Revolution

Published 10 months ago

B. Henri

Historically Very Accurate

A very well written book. I recommend it very strongly. The historical events decribed are very much as I recall them from my inexplicable journey to 18th century France.Why I Didn't Like the French Revolution

Aurevoir,

B. Henri Read more

Published 1 year ago

Carlos Mejia

Introduction to the Modern Library edition

A new edition of a classic history raises many questions, foremost among them: Assuming "The French Revolution" told as much of the truth about the past as it was humanly...Read more

Published 1 year ago

Gerald M. Laundry

Five Stars

Excellent book on this piece of French history.

Published 1 year ago

daniel jones

Bravo

I would not recommend for a new reader but I do recommend for the student of revolution. This book was a slow starter but really picked up after a few chapters great book

Published on March 20, 2016

Louis

Did not work out well for me

Well, I bought this based on the reviews, and I didn't like it. It is now gracing my apartments laundry room book shelf.Read more

Published on December 4, 2015

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