Reform and revolution in France : the politics of transition, 1774-1791

This textbook has been written to help teachers and students to pilot their way through the enormous and ever expanding literature on the French Revolution. The author makes a conscious effort to combine social and political interpretations of the origins of the Revolution and offers a synthesis which takes full account of current debates. He also seeks to restore the Revolution to its domestic environment. Notwithstanding the powerful contemporary myth of rupture, the author argues that the dramatic events of 1789 need to be considered alongside the reform achievements of Bourbon absolute monarchy. The result is a new account of the gestation of the Revolution which is both up-to-date and satisfying in its range of vision. Introduction 1 1 Government 12 Defining France 12 Institutions 2 4 A well-ordered state? 4 5 2 Society 50 Privilege 58 Towards a unified elite? 66 The challenge of public opinion 7 2 3 Economy 80 Agriculture 8 3 Industry 8 8 Trade 9 6 Downturn 100 4 Reformers and the reform constituency 107 Reform ministers 109 Bureaucrats 120 The reform constituency 127 5 Towards 'a truly national representation', 1787-1789 139 Assemblies versus estates 142 Necker and the preparations for the Estates General 156 Representation by riot 166 6 The National Assembly, 1789-1791 175 Redefining the nation 176 Rebuilding the nation 191 The search for consensus 2 0 7 Published online by Cambridge University Press x Contents 7 The political culture of revolution 215 Language and symbols 217 Elections 222 Enlarging the public sphere 226 Conclusion 237 Notes 247 Bibliography 261 Index 272 This textbook has been written to guide teachers and students through the enormous and ever expanding literature on the French Revolution. The author combines social and political interpretations of the origins of the Revolution and offers a synthesis that takes full account of current debates. He also seeks to restore the Revolution to its domestic surroundings, and argues that the dramatic events of 1789 need to be considered alongside the reform achievements of Bourbon absolute monarchy. This is an up-to-date textbook which links together the end of the French old regime and the start of the Revolution, two periods of history which are often studied in isolation. It combines social and political interpretations of the 'origins' of the Revolution, and takes full account of current debates.

A new social and political interpretation of the origins of the French Revolution.