Author Description

Challenging classical histories of the French Revolution, this revisionist work argues that any history and analysis of the period must give as much weight to counterrevolution as to revolution itself. Sutherland demonstrates that the effects of the Revolution varied greatly according to regional economies, social structures, and religious affiliations. The book examines how massive counterrevolutionary movements profoundly affected the course of the Revolution, leading to the failure of constitutional government and, ultimately, to an elitist dictatorship that paved the way for many of the struggles of the 19th century. Synthesizing an abundance of information in a refreshingly new light, students and scholars will welcome this bold study on a decisive twenty-five years in French and world history.