The French Revolution

by Sean Connolly

This series uses a variety of sources to give an insight into a particular period. The aim is to provide a history resource with a strong emphasis on evidence, using eye witness accounts from a range of source material, including diaries, letters and newspapers. An initial section introduces the period and the sources available. An extended quotation for the source is on one page, facing a commentary giving the historical background. The reliability of the sources is considered.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, French Revolution

56 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Sean Connolly will be familiar to listeners of BBC Radio Five Live and Radio Wales. Among his more than 50 books aimed at children and adults are Wholly Irresponsible Experiments and Witness to History: The Industrial Revolution. He has also written for the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. His three children are either collaborators or guinea pigs, depending on the project.

Reviews

[Rocky]

The book's topic was on 'The French Revolution' written by Sean Connolly.
It features the history of France revolution which started in 1789 and ended in 1805-6.
It was uniquely interesting and amazing as I get to know about French history that I had not known much.
The pictures illustrated were easily understood.In my opinion,I think this book was well written.Otherwise,I would not have recommended this book.
The content of this realistic French revolution was wonderful because it fully describe the scene in which how and why it happened.
Overall,I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars.

[Devin]

Blood, terror, death. This is how many people recognize the French Revolution, but it was so much more then that. This book taught me everything to know about the revolution and probably some more. The third estate actually had a brain during this event, not just a group of crazed lunatics. I especially loved the pre-revolution era of the book, as it gave great detail to the anger of the third estate. It was as if the 1st and 2nd estate shielded themselves from reality while the third estate had to live it. Also, they made Napoleon a dynamic character since he didn't remain constantly bad or good like most informational books. I found this quite interesting and set this book apart from the rest. The author's craft was excellent as the book flowed well and explained the events simply but detailed. This technique was noticed as I normally find myself drifting off while reading informational books but not in this one. Overall, a good book.

[Riley Barker]

I really enjoyed reading these books(John M. Dunn, Sean Connolly), despite my usual dislike of nonfiction. It was interesting to experience such a pivotal point in history. Now, I have the chance to compare and contrast the two takes on the story of the Revolution.

First off: the authors. It doesn't take much craft to write nonfiction, but I would like to discuss the organization in which the information is presented. In Dunn's version, each chapter focuses on a subject, usually very broad, and elaborates on that subject and its presence throughout the entire Revolution. However, Connolly's book is written in chapters that are organized by chronological events (all chapters being 2 pages exactly). On the subject of qualifications, Connolly had an extensive liberal arts education from Williams College, and has released numerous children's books about history. They both have done a great job of summarizing and organizing these events. I also include a link to a review that I found helpful on demonstrating the craft of Connolly's book (www.goodreads.com/review/show/279374048).

The second subject I felt important to address about these books is the subject matter. I think that themes from any Revolutionary novel or retelling would include unrest, anger, uprising, and especially death. "Thousands of spectators watched as a bladed killing device called the guillotine lopped off the king's head"(Dunn 8). Dunn's retelling opens with this eerie depiction of many of these themes. Crowds of ordinary Parisians witnessing these executions daily, and eagerly. The stories each tell of the back-story of the economic, social, and political problems that led to the blood and anger. Although both books were a success, providing me with the knowledge i sought, I preferred Dunn's retelling. Connolly's was too short for my taste and seemed to be intended for a younger audience.

I think that reading these books was a positive experience for me. This was a very interesting and important period in history. I am more and more intrigued every day, as I see history repeating itself before our very eyes.

[Andrea M]

For a children's book this book stands out because it includes Primary Sources and does not focus on a graphic portrayal of the violence of this event. I learned from this book how the French king was overthrown which was a complicated series of events and how Napoleon overthrew the new government yet managed to remain popular among the people even though he undermined many of the fundamental freedoms that were won by the violence of a revolution.

[Jess]

The text is very short, summing up the major events of the Revolution in a few short paragraphs. But for me the best part about this text is the plethora of primary sources. If I had to write a report, I would check this book out just for the quotes.

[Mitchell Davis]

good