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32nd out of 101 books
—
105 voters
The Days of the French Revolution
"Well-written, lucid, and vivid." --The Washington Post
"Mr. Hibbert is a remarkably good writer." --ANATOLE BROYARD, The New York Times
"[Hibbert writes] scene after scene with a dash appropriate to the onrushing events." --The New York Times Book Review
Marie Antoinette. Napoleon. Louis XVI. Robespierre, Danton, Mirabeau, Marat. Madame Roland's salon. A passionate throng of
...morePaperback, Reprint edition, 352 pages
Published
2002
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1980)
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Oct 29, 2011
Paul
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history-will-teach-us-nothing
Excellent account but my God the French Revolution was total merde and completely exhausting. Frankly, it's one damned thing after another - each thing usually being more hacked about and with more bleeding orifices than the last one. Hard to figure out who was left alive in Paris after 1795, fully functioning necks being a rare luxury. There is the usual can't-see-the-wood-for-the-trees problem in this book as with most historiography - I would moan that the participants in this dizzy dance of...more
This book was disappointing -- I had expected more, given the positive reviews on Amazon.
Written for a general readership as an introduction, and promising only to present the events (and not an analysis) of the Revolution -- the author spends untold pages narrating the most trivial matters, describing tiny details of meetings and marches -- and then suddenly skips, in a clause, over the great issues of the day - it is disorienting and ultimately not very informative. Because the syntax and dic...more
Written for a general readership as an introduction, and promising only to present the events (and not an analysis) of the Revolution -- the author spends untold pages narrating the most trivial matters, describing tiny details of meetings and marches -- and then suddenly skips, in a clause, over the great issues of the day - it is disorienting and ultimately not very informative. Because the syntax and dic...more
3 likes · like · see review
Another well-told history “written for the general reader,” this book was perhaps a bit too general. That is, it flew over its horde of major and minor characters and ruck of events, only seldom pausing to clarify things by, for example, setting out the main points of difference between the revolution’s political factions, or to give the reader a brief reminder of the identity of a person last mentioned 100 pages earlier. Nevertheless, the narrative of events, from the first rumblings against th...more
Hibbert really likes King Louis and Marie Antoinnette. I can't tell if he's being deliberately contrarian, or if they actually were sympathetic. But if you accept Louis as a good man in the first chapter, he goes on to frustrate you by his complete inability to do anything decisive for the rest of his life. He couldn't even commit to running away.
It took me almost a year to read this book over breakfast burritos at Foxys in Glendale. There were lots of very interesting ideas here, most of which...more
It took me almost a year to read this book over breakfast burritos at Foxys in Glendale. There were lots of very interesting ideas here, most of which...more
You won't find an apolitical history of the French Revolution anywhere, so Hibbert's reliance on aristocratic sources and outraged English conservatives, particularly in romanticizing those killed in the Terror and minimizing the threat of counterrevolution, shouldn't come as a surprise. That said, a critical reader willing to employ a bit of skepticism will find much to like. Hibbert especially does well in illuminating the messy emotional contradictions of the Revolution: a people roused by na...more
This is a popular history which covers the time from the meeting of the Estates General at Versailles in 1789 to the coup d'etat which brought Napoleon to power ten years later. It's concise and nowhere near as in depth as say, Simon Schama's massive Citizens, but it's vividly told and highly readable, offering an excellent overview of the events which changed the course of history. If you know a lot about the French Revolution, it likely won't tell you anything you don't already know, but it wo...more
I thought I knew a little bit about the French revolution. It turns out I knew nothing. This book is a very good introduction to the bloody topic. Imagine George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, all their colleagues, supporters and many more innocent people executed, and you will get a sense of the savagery of the times. Very few characters - and there are many - are presented in a sympathetic light. There are a few French phrases which remain untranslated,...more
Christopher Hibbert's recounting of the French Revolution is based upon dozens of first-hand accounts from the people who were there. Woven in with his superb narrative, this is a must-read for anyone interested in how the whole tragedy of the Revolution went down. There's plenty of background information on the key players and the entire book is quite riveting. My only complaint is that Hibbert didn't go far enough in attempting to explain motivations for the convoluted shifting of alliances an...more
I looked for quite a while for a book on the French Revolution, finally settling on this one. It was a pleasant read, if slightly different from most of the popular history I have read. The French Revolution was truly a terrifying event, no matter how you slice it. As a huge proponent of democracy and egalitarianism I root for the revolutionaries early on in the Revolution, but found myself disgusted with the second wave of revolution led by the poor and radical left. The reign of terror is wond...more
Meh. The author was clearly not very sympathetic to the people in the streets, so reading this book meant doing a lot of "reading between the lines" in order to determine what was driving so much of the Revolution both at its inception and as it dragged along.
That being said, my purpose in reading this was to learn a little more about what this particular revolution was about and how it related to the American Revolution which had finished its cycle just a few years prior. Deciphering that info...more
That being said, my purpose in reading this was to learn a little more about what this particular revolution was about and how it related to the American Revolution which had finished its cycle just a few years prior. Deciphering that info...more
With an avalanche of names, French phrases not found in the glossary, selectively-chosen facts, and an artificial structure built upon ten distinct (but not chronological) time periods the author terms "days," The Days of the French Revolution by the late English historian and biographer Christopher Hibbert is an absolutely dreadful book that pretends to give an introductory overview of the French Revolution, but instead delivers a sneering, elitist condemnation of the common man and his desire...more
A fairly dry history of the French Revolution: not bad at introducing the reader to the main players (I desperately needed this refresher course) and has some marvelous anecdotes (it's arranged around the key journées of the Revolution, hence it's title), but sometimes this obscured the big issues. One example: I had hoped after reading this to have a clearer idea of a contrast between the motives of groups like the Jacobins and Girondins, but it was almost as if Hibbert assumed the reader was a...more
This is an excellent general reader book describing the French Revolution. Hibbert's descriptions of the Bastille and the events leading to the execution of Louis XVI are as exciting as fiction. Most helpful are a 27 page prologue, a 13 page epilogue, a detailed index and an appendix showing significant events by date. The prologue provides information concerning the situations of the various classes on the eve of the revolution while the prologue describes the rise of Napoleon.
The revolution fe...more
The revolution fe...more
My overwhelming feeling after finishing this book was something along the line of 'Damn, that was one bloody uprising!' A pity then that the book turns out to be a rather dry and laborious read. Some historians have a knack for detailing history through great storytelling but I just don't think Hibbert was one of them. I found both this and The Borgias to be fairly dull reads despite their fairly short nature.
I also wish that there had been more of a background on the motivations of the revoluti...more
I also wish that there had been more of a background on the motivations of the revoluti...more
Truthfully, this rating has nothing to do with the author's writing. And it's not like you can really judge it as a story, right? It being factual events and all that.
But the French... at that time... were raving lunatics. That is all o.o
Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name. ♥
But the French... at that time... were raving lunatics. That is all o.o
Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name. ♥
This narrative history of the French Revolution is a page turner. While this is not a casual read, I was hooked from the beginning. The day by day account helped me grasp the confusion of events which composed the French Revolution. Although this is not a light weight book, I recommend it as a great introduction into this subject.
The Days of the French Revolution is a good introduction to the topic, but it isn’t particularly informative beyond basic facts. It tends to focus on irrelevant or unimportant details and occasionally leaves out more essential information. Though it wasn’t an exceptional history, it was useful as a refresher for anyone getting into the topic. Its chapters, divided by chronology and major events, as well as its glossary of French terms, were fairly helpful.
The chapter on the storming of the Bast...more
The chapter on the storming of the Bast...more
Riveting, colourful, vivid and utterly horrifying overview of the Revolution. Hibbert masterfully weaves fascinating details into his breathless account of six years of turmoil, achieving surprisingly intimate portraits of the all-to-human participants. His accounts of Danton, and particularly of Robespierre, are well-condensed and shockingly pathos-laden drawings of two despicable men who, word by word, become all too familiar in their own quests to "save" France. As it is often said, the best...more
1 like · like · see review
Sep 16, 2012
Eamon O'malley
added it
Excellent introduction to the French Revolution. Does what any great book like this should do. Brings the period to life and encourages further investigation
As an introductory text to the French Revolution this book was a brilliant yet concise history of the French Revolution.
Excellent account of the lead up to Bastille Day and the events as they unfolded on that day. Detailed and gripping.
This is a good narrative history of the French Revolution and as such is an excellent introduction to the subject.
Good, concise over view of the events leading up to the French Revolution and the effects it had.
Jan 14, 2010
Angela Alcorn
marked it as to-read
Apparently this book has "Maps, illustrations, a chronology of principle events".
Classic account of the Revolution. Very readable.
Nov 23, 2009
Becca Hollandsworth
is currently reading it
Very in-debth and well written. I'm enjoying it :D
Highly recommend for anyone visiting Paris.
A useful introduction to the French Revolution.
mildly educational, wildly pompous
Overall a good book. It rushed to the end in my opinion.
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Christopher Hibbert, MC, FRSL, FRGS (5 March 1924 - 21 December 2008) was an English writer, historian and biographer. He has been called "a pearl of biographers" (New Statesman), was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of many books, including Disraeli, Edward VII, George IV, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, and Cavaliers and Roundheads.
More about Christopher Hibbert...
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Jul 08, 2010 09:50pm