The Genesis of the French Revolution: A Global Historical Interpretation

by Bailey Stone

This book offers a unique synthesis of the long- and short-term causes of the French Revolution. Instead of focusing exclusively on developments within France, it places the country, and its revolution, within an international setting from the start. This book argues that the French Revolution stemmed from the pre-revolutionary state's converging failures in international and domestic affairs. The monarchy failed not only to remain in touch with changing social, intellectual, and political realities at home, but also to harness its citizens' ambitions and talents to the purpose of maintaining the country's international power and prestige. This analysis also provides a key to comprehending the course of events in revolutionary and post-revolutionary France--and an insight into why revolutionary movements broke out in the former USSR and its surrounding countries.

284 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 1994

Reviews

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a boring book about the French Revolution. The author has an extremely specific, terminally academic axe to grind. I suppose that he makes his point -- that the Revolution was very influenced by continental society, especially Austria and Russia.

Never recommend this book as a beginning text. Some useful tidbits, mostly the names of other, more interesting sounding authors in the footnotes, and I enjoyed the stuff about the slow-motion collapse of French royal finances as they related to constitutional questions. If your particular area of interest is Vergennes, Turgot, and Necker, then maybe this book is for you.

[Anthony Zupancic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone is a structuralist and argues that the origins of the French revolution are at least heavily driven by international/diplomatic issues and concerns.