The Great Fear of 1789: Rural Panic in Revolutionary France

by Georges Lefebvre, John Albert White (Translator)

This major work, graphically describes the panic, paranoia, and social chaos that sparked the Revolution. One of France's great historians analyzes the causes of the mass hysteria that overcame rural France during the summer of 1789, as hungry villagers flocked into towns to look for work or to beg for charity, and as vagrants and beggars choked the rural roads, threatening reprisals against householders who refused to give them shelter or a crust of bread.

Originally published in 1983.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Genres: History, France, French Revolution, Nonfiction

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Georges Lefebvre was a French historian, best known for his work on the French Revolution and peasant life.

Reviews

[Emily]

An account of revolutionary direct actions from the point of view of the oppressed. Phenomenal history, a must-read, particularly for anyone interested in how a self-help and mutual-defense movement came into focus over 200 years before cell phones and twitter.

For concurrent noble/bourgeois machinations, see
http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/201...

[Tim Kellett]

I am unfortunately too stupid to read books like this anymore.

[Michael]

Un livre de référence qui apporte un éclairage sociaux-économique des causes de la révolution de 1789, loin de certains clichés ou raccourcis.

[Drew Witte]

A little too plodding but that might’ve been the point

[aplmoatonton]

Ouvrage de référence sur la question. Lefebvre est le premier à avoir théorisé et identifié le phénomène. Presque 100 ans après et toujours indispensable.