xxiv, 544 p. ; 26 cm

The French Revolution is one of the great turning-points in modern history. Never before had the people of a large and populous country sought to remake their society on the basis of the principles of popular sovereignty and civic equality. The drama, success, and tragedy of their endeavor, and of the attempts to arrest or reverse it, have attracted scholarly debate for more than two centuries. Why did the Revolution erupt in 1789? Why did it prove so difficult to stabilize the new regime? What factors caused the Revolution to take its particular course? And what were the consequences, domestic and international, of a decade of revolutionary change? Featuring contributions from an international cast of acclaimed historians, A Companion to the French Revolution addresses these and other critical questions as it points the way to future scholarship

Includes bibliographical references and index

Part 1. The origins and nature of the crisis of 1789. Rethinking the origins of the French Revolution / Peter Campbell ; The social and economic crisis in France at the end of the Ancien Regime / Jean-Pierre Jessenne ; The cultural origins of the French Revolution / Sarah Maza ; France and the Atlantic world / Miranda Spieler -- Part 2. Reshaping France, 1789-91. The principles of 1789 / Michael P. Fitzsimmons ; Reimagining space and power / Alan Forrest ; "The case against the King," 1789-93 / Barry M. Shapiro -- Part 3. Church, state, and war. The Ancien Regime, Catholic Europe, and the Revolution's religious schism / Dale Van Kley ; The origins and outcomes of religious schism, 1790-99 / Edward J. Woell ; A tale of two narratives : the French Revolution in international context, 1787-93 / Thomas E. Kaiser -- Part 4. Contesting the limits of revolution. Whose revolution? / Serge Aberdam ; Gender, sexuality, and political culture / Anne Verjus ; The peasantry, feudalism, and the environment, 1789-93 / Noelle Plack -- Part 5. Revolutionary and counter-revolutionary violence. Urban crowds, riot, utopia, and massacres, 1789-92 / Donald Sutherland ; The Vendee, Chouannerie, and the state, 1791-99 / Jean-Clement Martin -- Part 6. Political choice and practice. Friends, enemies, and the role of the individual / Marisa Linton ; Choosing revolution and counter-revolution / Peter M. Jones ; The course of the terror, 1793-94 / David Andress -- Part 7. Searching for stability, 1794-99. The Thermidorian reaction / Laura Mason ; The political culture of the directory / James Livesey ; The new security state / Howard G. Brown ; The white terror : factions, reactions, and the politics of vengeance / Stephen Clay -- Part 8. The revolution in international perspective. The international repercussions of the French Revolution / Mike Rapport ; Slavery and the colonies / Frederic Regent ; The revolutionary Mediterranean / Ian Coller -- Part 9. Change and continuity in France. A revolution in political culture / Isser Woloch ; The economy, society, and the environment / Peter McPhee ; The French Revolution and the family / Suzanne Desan ; The revolution in history, commemoration, and memory / Pascal Dupuy

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