The French Revolution Vol. 1

The French Revolution: A History #1

by Thomas Carlyle

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Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, French Revolution, European History, Classics, Politics

528 pages

First published January 1, 1837

About the author

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian, critic, and sociological writer. was born in the village of Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, eldest child of James Carlyle, stonemason, and Margaret (Aitken) Carlyle. The father was stern, irascible, a puritan of the puritans, but withal a man of rigid probity and strength of character. The mother, too, was of the Scottish earth, and Thomas' education was begun at home by both the parents. From the age of five to nine he was at the village school; from nine to fourteen at Annan Grammar School. where he showed proficiency in mathematics and was well grounded in French and Latin. In November 1809 he walked to Edinburgh, and attended courses at the University till 1814, with the ultimate aim of becoming a minister. He left without a degree, became a mathematical tutor at Annan Academy in 1814, and three years later abandoned all thoughts of entering the Kirk, having reached a theological position incompatible with its teachings. He had begun to learn German in Edinburgh, and had done much independent reading outside the regular curriculum. Late in 1816 he moved to a school in Kirkcaldy, where he became the intimate associate of Edward Irving, an old boy of Annan School, and now also a schoolmaster. This contact was Carlyle's first experience of true intellectual companionship, and the two men became lifelong friends. He remained there two years, was attracted by Margaret Gordon, a lady of good family (whose friends vetoed an engagement), and in October 1818 gave up schoolmastering and went to Edinburgh, where he took mathematical pupils and made some show of reading law.

During this period in the Scottish capital he began to suffer agonies from a gastric complaint which continued to torment him all his life, and may well have played a large part in shaping the rugged, rude fabric of his philosophy. In literature he had at first little success, a series of articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia bringing in little money and no special credit. In 1820 and 1821 he visited Irving in Glasgow and made long stays at his father's new farm, Mainhill; and in June 1821, in Leith Walk, Edinburgh, he experienced a striking spiritual rebirth which is related in Sartor Resartus. Put briefly and prosaically, it consisted in a sudden clearing away of doubts as to the beneficent organization of the universe; a semi-mystical conviction that he was free to think and work, and that honest effort and striving would not be thwarted by what he called the "Everlasting No."

For about a year, from the spring of 1823, Carlyle was tutor to Charles and Arthur Buller, young men of substance, first in Edinburgh and later at Dunkeld. Now likewise appeared the first fruits of his deep studies in German, the Life of Schiller, which was published serially in the London Magazine in 1823-24 and issued as a separate volume in 1825. A second garner from the same field was his version of Goethe's Wilhelm Meister which earned the praise of Blackwood's and was at once recognized as a very masterly rendering.

In 1821 Irving had gone to London, and in June 1821 Carlyle followed, in the train of his employers, the Bullers. But he soon resigned his tutorship, and, after a few weeks at Birmingham, trying a dyspepsia cure, he lived with Irving at Pentonville, London, and paid a short visit to Paris. March 1825 saw him back; in Scotland, on his brother's farm, Hoddam Hill, near the Solway. Here for a year he worked hard at German translations, perhaps more serenely than before or after and free from that noise which was always a curse to his sensitive ear and which later caused him to build a sound-proof room in his Chelsea home.

Before leaving for London Irving had introduced Carlyle to Jane Baillie Welsh daughter of the surgeon, John Welsh, and descended from John Knox. She was beautiful, precociously learned, talented, and a brilliant mistress of cynical satire. Among her numerous suitors, the rough, uncouth

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although challenging, this three-volume history of the French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle is still worth the effort it takes to read. Carlyle was a Scotsman (of Puritan parents) writing about the stereotypically decadent French during one of the most violent eras of their history. A unique perspective, for sure! He organized this history thematically around topics, so the book jumps around a bit. Therefore, it is helpful to have at least a working knowledge of the French Revolution going in.

This first volume, The Bastille, introduces many of the players (though not all) and sets the stage, giving some of the background of the conditions in France which led up to the Revolution. They go back many years and monarchies.

I've had this lovely Folio edition on my shelf for years now calling to me! I'm going back and forth between this and the free kindle edition. I don't take my good books to the table or anywhere they might get soiled, lost or stolen. It also has numerous pictures which the kindle edition doesn't have and ... of course, is so much nicer to read.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A detailed but dry read. Informative, but not interesting.

[Scott Calibraxis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading "historical history," that is, books of history which were written in a preceding era, is essential for a serious reader. By reading the narrative as written, and at the same time filtering it through the lens of time and current historical thinking, one can get a rich, multi-layered experience. Of course, one must be prepared by having studied the subject matter through modern accounts.

This holds especially true for The French Revolution by Carlyle. One simply cannot pick up and read this work without a fairly strong knowledge of the history of the period. The author assumes familiarity with names and events. Furthermore, the narrative voice is so intensely opinionated, and the account of events is so personal and informed by author's beliefs, that the account must be viewed in the context of the many various interpretations and narratives of the Revolution. Even with a foundation in the history of the period, you will want to keep Wikipedia open.

Furthermore, Carlyle's views, which so clearly reflect preoccupations of his age and political viewpoint, and of course suffer from a narrowness of source materials (that have since become available to modern scholars), cannot possibly be taken at face value, and may only be understood within the appropriate context.

That said, reading his opinionated account can be much more compelling than trying to read one which is dry and disinterested. One cannot help thrilling to the heights of outrage that Carlyle reaches, and his lacerating wit and scorn is amazing.

One of the reasons to read this work is the incredibly beautiful and intense language Carlyle employs. His control and inventiveness, his deployment of metaphor, and his surprising turns of phrase are certainly some of the pinnacle achievements in English writing.

This book is a definite challenge to the reader, both for the degree of knowledge necessary to understand the narrative and put the author's personal views in context, and for the mental dexterity required to follow the difficult language the author uses. However, the richness of both the narrative and the writing style, and of course the dramatic and gripping events of the Revolution, are so extraordinary that the reader is more than paid back for such efforts.

[Julianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is Volume 1 of 2, I will save the bulk of my reflections for later. However, my first impression is that this is a masterful work by a seasoned writer. Carlyle's style might grate on some (occasionally, rhapsodies about "those twenty five millions" and "The Age of Paper" call to mind a drunken umpire), but in the main, the nature of the events narrated seems to fully justify a dramatic tone. Though written for people already familiar with the Revolution, its agents and effects, it is not impenetrable. Carlyle endows his "characters" with epithets in the manner of Homerian epic--instead of grey-eyed Athene, we have "sea-green Robespierre"--enabling the reader to recognize names and faces at a distance. And anything crucial is treated in full. Part epic, part history, part eulogy, The French Revolution is as engrossing as a novel.

[Steve Horan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bastille is the first of a three volume set on The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle and covers the period of history from 1744 to Oct 6,1789. According to the Easton Press, Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” was researched using Carlyle’s The French Revolution as a reference. Dickens wrote that he read Carlyle’s work nearly 500 times and carried it around with him while writing his own story. I will be reading A Tale of Two Cities after finishing all three volumes of Carlyle’s work.

[Auntiecatherine]

The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle (1955)

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlyle's descriptions vividly bring to life the struggles and occasional excesses committed during the French Revolution. A wonderfully evocative book.

[Leonardo]

El tercer capítulo de La razón populista discute este libro.

[Bruh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bad history, fine novel