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The Oxford History of the French Revolution 3rd Edition, Kindle Edition

by William Doyle (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 159 ratings
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Since its first publication to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, this Oxford History has established itself as the Revolution's most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume history in English, and has recently been translated into Chinese. Running from the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, it traces the history of France through revolution, terror, and counter-revolution to the final triumph of Napoleon in 1802. It also analyses the impact of
events in France upon the rest of Europe and the world beyond. The study shows how a movement which began with optimism and general enthusiasm soon became a tragedy, not only for the ruling orders, but also for the millions of ordinary people whose lives were disrupted by religious upheaval, economic
chaos, and civil and international war.

Now in its third edition, this volume has been fully updated in the light of current research, and includes an appendix surveying the past and present historiography of the revolutionary period.
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Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-0198804932
  2. Edition
    3rd
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    OUP Oxford
  5. Publication date
    June 29, 2018
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    7261 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emeritus Professor of History and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, William Doyle was educated at Bridlington School and Oriel College Oxford. His postgraduate work culminated in a doctorate on Bordeaux in the Eighteenth Century, and he has since taught successively at the universities of York, Nottingham, and Bristol, with further visiting appointments in France and the USA. The author of sixteen books and co-editor of a further four, which include translations into eight foreign languages, Doyle is also the Co-founder of the Society for the Study of French History.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07F37RP98
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ OUP Oxford; 3rd edition (June 29, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 29, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7261 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 507 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 159 ratings

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William Doyle

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
159 global ratings
Disorganized
2 Stars
Disorganized
I could tell that the author thoroughly researched the topic. BUT I doubt that this book was ever edited. I struggle with the organization of the paragraphs. The paragraphs are extremely long, but that’s not the real problem. The issue is the fact that some of the ideas do not belong in a given paragraph. For example, a paragraph on page 16 seems to discuss the idea of seasonal labor that was prevalent among peasants who struggled to find a job locally, but then all of a sudden the discussion shifs to a whole different idea - communal rights in villages. This idea should have been in a separate paragraph!!!Here is how I am editing as I go: the sentence which starts with “Not only did they constitute a majority of the inhabitants; they found extra resources in the communal rights which villages enjoyed,” should follow a sentence that introduces an idea of communal rights “although many villagers left their homes to look for a job elsewhere, villages offered the benefits associated with communal rights which were still prevalent in some rural areas of France. Communal rights are .... The benefits the right offered are....”Due to these issue, the writing is confusing and for this reason comes across as unconvincing. In fact, most of it is rumbling really. Money wasted!I wanted to learn French history so bad but this book totally killed my excitement for it.Disclaimer: I am not saying that I am an expert. My writing is not perfect but, as a reader, I find this to be absolutely unreadable!!!! These long paragraphs are full of disjointed and unorganized thoughts. I was expecting more from “The Oxford history”.
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Top reviews from the United States

Thomas Weeston
5.0 out of 5 stars French Revolution
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
A view of the dynamics that created the horrible necessity of revolution and the amalgam of violent ideologies in conflict that fanned the flames. Whenever we actively create and/or passively allow evils to multiply, there always comes a moment of reckoning where the cost of ‘revolution’ is vastly greater than the cost of active confession and courageous confrontation would have been.
One person found this helpful
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DGW
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting book that helps explain a very chaotic period.
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2019
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I think it is very well written. It helped me to get a better grasp of many of the important characters, without either demonizing or canonizing them.
4 people found this helpful
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Jim
4.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough and interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
The book is quite informative and detailed, but enjoyable to read - not at all tedious like other textbooks. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is that the author assumes the reader has a level of knowledge not everyone has. For example, he inserts various French words without defining them. Since I don't know French, this was frustrating. Also, several governmental positions and ministries are not well defined either. Since I'm not familiar with French political structures (especially from past history), I feel like I missed out on a deeper understanding of events. However, this did not make the text unintelligible.
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JLA
5.0 out of 5 stars Book arrived as described.
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2021
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Thanks.
One person found this helpful
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taxichess
5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
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The best one volume book on the French revolution.
6 people found this helpful
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Cliente de Kindle
3.0 out of 5 stars La revolución francesa
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020
Verified Purchase
Muy interesante análisis y completa revisión de un acontecimiento que cambio el mundo para siempre. Recomendable para una revisión analítica del fenómeno histórico.
3 people found this helpful
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William J. Bahr
4.0 out of 5 stars Très bien, mais…. Very good, but….
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2019
This book, from one of the leading revisionist historians of the French Revolution, has received high praise from a number of historians and newspapers, saying it’s the most authoritative and comprehensive history of the French Revolution. That it may be; however, the book has a number of opportunities for improvement in its next edition:

1. Many passages and phrases are in French and beg immediate translation.
2. The author has a tendency to expand upon interesting but less important facts to the detriment of flow.
3. Characters are briefly introduced, then show up in snippets many pages later, which, for full comprehension of the points made, either requires the reader to have a more than fairly good memory or frequently access the index. Thus, it’s often quite a challenge to connect the dots of information sprinkled throughout the book.
4. Some characters are included in the index, only to have the briefest of descriptions. Eg, on page 422, this is the only information one finds about Mmm de Staël in a somewhat difficult to follow sentence: “Meanwhile, whereas at the highest level the closet [sic] influence of political wives like Mme Roland and Mme Talien, or Necker’s busybody daughter Mme de Staël, continued the well-established traditions of the old regime, the unprecedented atmosphere of early revolutionary Paris threw up new and unusual figures.”
5. One finds a number of nonparallelisms throughout the book. Eg, most of the time there is no line separation between paragraphs; however, without apparent reason, this is not always the case. As well, many paragraphs are quite lengthy. At random, I found one that goes on for four pages.
6. While some subjects receive great coverage, others, such as the Storming of the Bastille are very quickly glossed over. Eg, the suggestion is made that the Storming was part of a continued search for armaments. Actually, the crowd had already collected some 30,000 muskets. What they were hoping to obtain at the Bastille was gunpowder and ammunition.
7. The book contains relatively few illustrations, with opportunities for “a picture is worth a thousand words” on a number of blank pages.
8. The book contains no Bibliography. The combination of its mostly chronological listing of historians and it Notes section is a somewhat inadequate substitute.

The book does contain, at least for me, a lot of “Wow, I didn’t know that’s!” Just one example: the Girondins went to guillotine singing the “Marseillaise.” As well, the author provides a fairly good listing of the factors as to end of the Terror with the Thermidorian Reaction. This listing includes external factors reducing the need for drastic measures (such as the guillotine) to suppress “traitors” to end the war: 1. On 1 June 1794, the British failure to prevent a major grain convey from arriving from America. 2. Also, in this same naval battle [the Glorious First of June], the British sinking of the French ship Vengeur [du Peuple] was spun not as a total defeat but an example of heroic defense with its crew going down with the ship rather than surrender. Actually, the “kind” British were able to rescue only half the crew before it sank. 3. On 26 June 1794, more importantly, came the victory at the Battle of Fleurus, which removed the last Austrian threat and opened the way for a renewed invasion of Belgium.

Bottom-line, the book is an excellent, informative read, with opportunities for improvement in its next edition.

“Character is Key for Liberty!” Check out how “Character, Culture, and Constitution” played “key” roles in the American and French Revolutions:  George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul , a best-seller at Mount Vernon.
8 people found this helpful
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JoKa
2.0 out of 5 stars Disorganized
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
I could tell that the author thoroughly researched the topic. BUT I doubt that this book was ever edited.

I struggle with the organization of the paragraphs. The paragraphs are extremely long, but that’s not the real problem. The issue is the fact that some of the ideas do not belong in a given paragraph. For example, a paragraph on page 16 seems to discuss the idea of seasonal labor that was prevalent among peasants who struggled to find a job locally, but then all of a sudden the discussion shifs to a whole different idea - communal rights in villages. This idea should have been in a separate paragraph!!!

Here is how I am editing as I go: the sentence which starts with “Not only did they constitute a majority of the inhabitants; they found extra resources in the communal rights which villages enjoyed,” should follow a sentence that introduces an idea of communal rights “although many villagers left their homes to look for a job elsewhere, villages offered the benefits associated with communal rights which were still prevalent in some rural areas of France. Communal rights are .... The benefits the right offered are....”

Due to these issue, the writing is confusing and for this reason comes across as unconvincing. In fact, most of it is rumbling really. Money wasted!

I wanted to learn French history so bad but this book totally killed my excitement for it.

Disclaimer: I am not saying that I am an expert. My writing is not perfect but, as a reader, I find this to be absolutely unreadable!!!!

These long paragraphs are full of disjointed and unorganized thoughts. I was expecting more from “The Oxford history”.
Customer image
JoKa
2.0 out of 5 stars Disorganized
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2019
I could tell that the author thoroughly researched the topic. BUT I doubt that this book was ever edited.

I struggle with the organization of the paragraphs. The paragraphs are extremely long, but that’s not the real problem. The issue is the fact that some of the ideas do not belong in a given paragraph. For example, a paragraph on page 16 seems to discuss the idea of seasonal labor that was prevalent among peasants who struggled to find a job locally, but then all of a sudden the discussion shifs to a whole different idea - communal rights in villages. This idea should have been in a separate paragraph!!!

Here is how I am editing as I go: the sentence which starts with “Not only did they constitute a majority of the inhabitants; they found extra resources in the communal rights which villages enjoyed,” should follow a sentence that introduces an idea of communal rights “although many villagers left their homes to look for a job elsewhere, villages offered the benefits associated with communal rights which were still prevalent in some rural areas of France. Communal rights are .... The benefits the right offered are....”

Due to these issue, the writing is confusing and for this reason comes across as unconvincing. In fact, most of it is rumbling really. Money wasted!

I wanted to learn French history so bad but this book totally killed my excitement for it.

Disclaimer: I am not saying that I am an expert. My writing is not perfect but, as a reader, I find this to be absolutely unreadable!!!!

These long paragraphs are full of disjointed and unorganized thoughts. I was expecting more from “The Oxford history”.
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Customer image
Customer image
19 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Felipe Costa Carneiro
5.0 out of 5 stars Nota
Reviewed in Brazil on February 10, 2024
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10
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DAVID M
5.0 out of 5 stars THE authoritative text
Reviewed in Canada on February 9, 2024
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This is a long but very thorough and complete history of the French Revolution. The writing style is clear, eminently readable and informative. This is a great book
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Graham Cammock
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2022
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What an awe inspiring read! This is my first brush with the French Revolution and I am shocked by the scale and violence of the French revolution. This book is very long, more like 1000 pages as opposed to 500 pages. Very interesting and I highly recommend!
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Jorg Illi
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
Reviewed in Australia on July 10, 2023
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A good book to learn the basics about the French Revolution. Well written and researched. I thoroughtly enjoyed it.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars (surprisingly) it lacks organisation
Reviewed in Brazil on April 11, 2023
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great book and wondrous research, but very badly organised for a third edition. also, some concepts just come up unannounced, which will pose great difficulties for those who are not familiar with the theme.
some
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