Origins of the French Revolution

by William Doyle

Book Overview

First published in 1980, this book rapidly established itself as the indispensable guide for those seeking to learn what broughgt about the French Revolution--as well as those wanting to track the many debates had by historians on this issue. This new edition brings the subject up-to-date withan extensively rewritten survey of the historiography of the Revolution as it stands today, alongside a revised interpretation of this era that fully reflects...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198730217
• ISBN13: 9780198730217
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

In Honor OF The French Revolution

This year marks the commemoration of the 220th Anniversary of the great French Revolution. Democrats, socialists, communists and others rightly celebrate that event as a milestone in humankind's history. Whether there are still lessons to be learned from the experience is an open question that political activists can fight over. None, however, can deny its grandeur. Well, no one except those closet and not so closet royalists and their epigones who screech in horror and grasp for their necks every time the 14th of July comes around. They have closed the door of history behind them. Won't they be surprised then the next time there is a surge of progressive human activity? ******** All great revolutions, like the French revolution under review here, are capable, especially when they are long over, of being analyzed from many prospectives. Moreover, official and academic historian have no other reason to exist except to keep revising the effects that such revolutions have had on future historical developments. Left wing political activists, on the other hand, try to draw the lessons of those earlier plebeian struggles in order to better understand the tasks ahead. As part of that understanding it is necessary to look at previous revolutions not only from the position of how it effected the plebes but to look at from the position of those who do not see the action of the plebeian masses as decisive, at least for the French Revolution. If one wants to get a feel for the old way of looking at history from the top down then you can do no better than to look at the fairly recent example of Professor William Doyle's "Origins Of The French Revolution". If one, like this reviewer, spends his or her time looking at the base of society (here the urban sans culottes, the landless peasants and displaced village artisans)to see how those forces were brought to political life, organized, made politically effective (if only for a time, as noted above, before they as individuals like society in general also run out of revolutionary steam) and how they put pressure on their leaderships and how those leaderships responded to those pressures then one downplays the other social forces that are in play in a revolutionary period. Great revolutions, however, create all kinds of turmoil in layers of society that previously were dormant or were in control, although shakily. In that regard, virtually a sure sign that a pre-revolutionary situation exists is when a portion of the old ruling elite (or their agents) begins to make revolutionary noises. Professor Doyle has taken that important insight and made it one of his central arguments, that is , in the end the upwardly mobile, self-improving nobility (the meritocracy in today's terms) in France rather than being frustrated with the old regime just wanted to tweak things here or there in order to make it more efficient. This is where his emphasis on looking at the effect of policies at the top of society leads him to a

quite an impressive overview of the origins...

I am impressed with the scope and depth that William Doyle put into the Origins of the French Revolution. It is sometimes difficult and grueling to read, but Origins of the French Revolution is well worth it if you are a history buff or like anything pertaining to the French. William Doyle begins his journey through the origins of the French Revolution by explaining the different points of view on it. He explains the classic theories, the revisionist way of thinking, and finally the post-revisionist way of thinking. By giving the reader each theory on the origins of the French Revolution, he allows the reader to develop an open frame of mind when continuing on to part two of his book. Part two discusses the financial and political problems the French experience throughout the course of their history, beginning with Louis XIV and ending with Louis XVI. He explains the downfalls the French have financially and politically. It's interesting to think that France had much less debt than England and the Dutch Republic at the time, but they couldn't handle it because of their financial and political problems (which are too numerous to explain now). In part two William Doyle also explains the changes in the public opinion, due mainly to the Renaissance and writers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Lastly, in part three William Doyle explores the different classes in French society, along with the economic and election problems pushing France toward a revolution. There were two main elements that I enjoyed most about William Doyle and his Origins of the French Revolution. Firstly, he didn't try to name the one person that brought the downfall of the French and led them to a revolution. Secondly, he also compiled all of the problems with the French during the years prior to the revolution, without focusing on one problem that could be thought of as the sole cause. Instead, leaving these two aspects out of his book, he allows the reader to make up his or her own mind on the topic, possibly spurring a new theory in the future. I congratulate William Doyle on this immense piece of history, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. Everyone enjoy!

Thougtful, Concise Analysis

This short book is a structural analysis of the outbreak of the French Revolution. Doyle opens by discussing the relevant historiography and proceeds to explicate the major underlying causes of the Revolution. He includes some concise narrative of the opening of the Revolution and the major features for its triumph. This book can be read profitably in conjunction with Doyle's excellent one volume history of the Revolution.

Brisk, analytical and direct

There is of course a daunting amount of literature on the French Revoloution which often means that first-time students are often faced with a lottery concerning the book they choose. This book has no pretentions whatsoever to being all encompassing or a psycho-sociological analysis of the revoloution itself. Dealing with the pre 1789 period it is an admirably clear re-examination of the fall of the ancient regime. Comprehensively written and free of academic snobbery it charts the relaxation of rigid absoloutism and the development both of coherent political opposition and a relevant public opinion, both concepts that were unheard of in the archetypal monarchy of Loius XIV. Seditious pamphlets that had traditionally been confined to exile in the Netherlands found their way back into France and criticism of the establishment grew in a crescendo: the street and the parlements echoing one another and feeding in confidence off of one another. Doyle thus lands us in the years immediately prior to 1789 and guides us through the domino series of economic ministers, victims of the sustained, and now infamous financial crisis that so relentlessly exposed the dire infrastructure of French government. Finally we are presented with a synopsis of events that led to the walls of the Bastille and a conclusion: all in all less than 200 pages. This is a very businesslike book with no room for sentiment, philosophy or lyricism but in its digestible form, leaves the reader clear on the major points, a task many other histories have failed in. Reccomended for anyone looking for a clear explanation for the end of the ancien regime.

Origins of the French Revolution

Origins of the French Revolution is a comprehensive review of the corrupted and doomed Bourbon regime. It is rich in detail and facts about the reigns of Louis XIV through Louis XVI. The book is divided into three parts: Writings on Revolutionary Origins Since 1939, The Breakdown of the Old Regime, and The Struggle for Power. And in each of these sections important chapters are introduced for discussion. Doyle takes the three sectors of society during that time--the nobility, clergy, and bourgeoise--and analyzes their individual roles in bringing the revolution about. Both the good and bad sides of these sectors of society is clearly revealed and their strengths and weaknesses also. Doyle covers the posiiton of the nobility especially well. He offers an interesting view on the nobility that is usually not seen in other books discussing the French Revolution. The other sections of this book is great in detail also, such as the chapters discussing the government organization and the ministers who tried to implement reform. The book is somewhat difficult to understand because of the wealth of detail within it, but one can clearly say that without drastic reform the French government was hopeless. Overall it was a dry read but for people who are interested in the details of the revolution this will be a great read.