A Social History of the French Revolution

by Norman Hampson

The revolutionary movement which began in 1787 disrupted all aspects of French society, rising to a pitch of such extreme violence that the effects are still felt today. The Revolution was the product of social tensions developing in the 2nd half of the 18th century. Hampson analyses the nature of these social conflicts within their political framework. With enough background information to satisfy the general reader, this book devotes particular attention to provincial France. The result is both a picture of the supreme crisis in society, & an examination of social attitudes & aspirations whose influence has been universal & enduring.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, Historical

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1963

About the author

Norman Hampson was the Professor of History at the University of York from 1974 to 1989 and fellow of the British Academy in 1980. He specialised in the French Revolution and European Enlightenment. During the Second World War Hampson's service in the Royal Navy included two years as liaison officer with the Free French Navy.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

During high school very few friends had access to automobiles. Walter Wallace, a year ahead of me, was an exception. One of two sons of a single mother, his was one of the poorer families in Park Ridge, but the exigencies of work required them to maintain a car. Walter, being the elder son, was the designated driver. Indeed, I never saw his mother run the thing--perhaps she'd never learned. In any case, he used it to drive her and himself back and forth from work, from shopping and errands. In what time remained the machine was his and he was generous with his friends.

Many of my most important experiences in adolescence were in part owing to Walter's Volvo. Walter was, even as an adolescent, a leftist intellectual, inclined to the study of history. His idea of a good time included such things as going to bookstores, to libraries, to university campuses and academic lectures. I, sharing similar interests, was more than happy to accompany him, serving as navigator and cigarette lighter on the longer trips. This particular book, my first serious study of the French revolution outside the classroom, was obtained on one such adventure to the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

[drGonso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly exposed, non-idealized analysis of the years of the French revolution, concisely written.