Children of the Revolution: The French, 1799-1914 - Hardcover

Gildea, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674032098 ISBN 13: 9780674032095

Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr, 2008

Synopsis

For those who lived in the wake of the French Revolution, from the storming of the Bastille to Napoleon’s final defeat, its aftermath left a profound wound that no subsequent king, emperor, or president could heal. Children of the Revolution follows the ensuing generations who repeatedly tried and failed to come up with a stable regime after the trauma of 1789. The process encouraged fresh and often murderous oppositions between those who were for, and those who were against, the Revolution’s values. Bearing the scars of their country’s bloody struggle, and its legacy of deeply divided loyalties, the French lived the long nineteenth century in the shadow of the revolutionary age.

Despite the ghosts raised in this epic tale, Robert Gildea has written a richly engaging and provocative book. His is a strikingly unfamiliar France, a country with an often overwhelming gap between Paris and the provinces, a country torn apart by fratricidal hatreds and a tortured history of feminism, the site of political catastrophes and artistic triumphs, and a country that managed—despite a pervasive awareness of its own fall from grace—to fix itself squarely at the heart of modernity. Indeed, Gildea reveals how the collective recognition of the great costs of the Revolution galvanized the French to achieve consensus in a new republic and to integrate the tumultuous past into their sense of national identity. It was in this spirit that France’s young men went to the front in World War I with a powerful sense of national confidence and purpose.

About this title

Review

'An excellent book ! his real achievement lies in digging below the surface to present a tapestry of French life ! the overall sweep and depth of the book is masterly' - Jonathan Fenby, The Times 'Magisterial ! a spectacular new study ! teeming with anecdotes, gems and intriguing details' - Siofra Pierse, Irish Times 'A fine new history ! far-ranging, original and very enjoyable' - Virginia Rounding, Daily Telegraph 'Elegantly written ! vivid and constantly enriched by a gallery of portraits ! The author's sympathetic understanding of the French shines through his prose' - Sudhir Hazareesingh, Literary Review 'Masterly' - Graham Robb, Sunday Times 'A triumph' - Richard Vinen, Independent

About the Author

Robert Gildea has spent a lifetime studying modern France. Among his major works are France Since 1945 and The Past in French History. His last book, Marianne in Chains, won the Wolfson Prize for History in 2002. He is Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674032098
• ISBN 13: 9780674032095
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 540