The Oxford History of the French Revolution

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.

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.