The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution

by David P. Jordan

On August 10, 1792, Louis XVI of France abandoned his Paris chateau, walked across the Tuileries gardens, and surrendered his crown. In the tumultuous months that followed, he was tried, found guilty, and sent to the guillotine. When originally published, David Jordan's riveting account of that turbulent time identified key issues, focused attention on a matter once considered only an episode of French history, and reframed the academic debate on the meaning of the most significant trial in French history. His new preface considers the scholarship of the past twenty-five years and places The King's Trial in the current context.

Genres: History, French Revolution, Nonfiction, France, European History, 18th Century, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

David P. Jordan received his Ph.D. from Yale University, USA. He is the Distinguished Professor of French History, Emeritus, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Reviews

[Isabel Rebelo da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sad story that has repeated itself every time that there is a Revolution. The excesses and teh extreme ideologies always sacrifice someone.

[Josiah Coffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before tackling this book I read Simon Schama's chronical of the French Revolution called ‘Citizens’. A meaty but excellent tome on the period and it’s players. For the Kings Trial, Jordon admits in his preface that he somewhat inadvertently stumbled onto the subject of the King's Trial but was provided with such an abundance of resources to complete this work while living in Paris that it was hard to ignore. The books is well researched and provides insights not only into the last months of Louis XVI's life but also into the lives of those who were ultimately responsible for Louis' execution. Jordan tells the narrative in such a way that I often found myself turning the page hoping to read about how the Girondins were able to sway a few more undecided deputies to vote for banishment instead of death. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it provided me with the details I've come to expect from good historical narratives which make it that much more tangible while at the same time constructing them in such way that the story unfolds as if you're reading a novel. I also loved his anecdote about how Louis’ life is remembered today – an obscure service is held every year on January 25 in a local Paris church at which a seat is reserved, so they say, for the ‘Pretender’ to the throne of France, aka Louis’ heir. I could not help but feel sorry for this deposed monarch who was labeled a tyrant, perhaps not without a small amount of justification, but not quite accurate. Jordon leaves that decision to successive readers though and scholars inhabiting every generation from here to “the end.”

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched adventure into the pre-trial, trial and a bit of post trial of King Louis XVI. A great read.

[Aleksandra Herzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, extraordinary book, I loved every second of it.

[Omitheus]

Read Chapters IX, X, XI, XII — p161-221

[WuyaNoodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book. Very informative. Love how the author writes about Louis XVI.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the Jason Schwartzman of French Revolutionary history writing: wrangling out of the historical record a compelling and sympathetic portrait of Louis the Last, a man who by all accounts seems to have been one of the least charismatic people to find himself at the center of political turmoil.

Jordan also offers a coherent account of the various intra-revolutionary conflicts (i.e., Girondins vs. Jacobins; Commune vs. Convention) and how those conflicts interacted with the procedural wrangling over the ex-king's fate. That is no small achievement either.

And the story is enlivened by a thoughtful selection of portraits, maps and floorplans, and renderings of the proceedings inside the Manège, and wraps up with a brief, evocative meditation on how Louis's execution has been commemorated by royalists over the years.

This is not a beginner's book, but it is a very worthy sidebar to a survey of the Revolution.

http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/201...

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most everyone has heard of the French Revolution and the eventual fate of the Louis XVI but the details of the protocol and other aspects of the trial are not nearly as well known. This was interesting to read about those details that are often skipped over for the more bloody facts and the phenomena of Napoleon. These details were important to those upper echelons of the French Revolution because they wanted it to have the appearance of legitimacy to other countries not to be perceived as just rebel rousers.

The writing is easy to follow.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my uncle's books, recommended to me by a family friend. It is a narrative account of the early days of the First French Republic, following the perspective of the imprisoned king and the National Assembly sitting to try him. My father tells me that my uncle read through all the Parisian newspapers day by day, in order to get a feeling for how it felt to be living in Paris at the time. The result is a surprisingly gripping and vivid narrative with a lot of personal detail.

[Mike Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at the French Revolution through the lens of the trial and execution of Louis XVI. The book is easy to read and credibly argues that King Louis wasn't nearly as incompetent as he is often portrayed.

[Ralphy Deluca iv · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best historical non-fiction books I've ever read. If you ever want to learn about Louis XVI's trial and subsequent execution this book is a must read. It is written very compellingly and is never boring.

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Reads very well.