I have found it difficult to find books written in English about the French Revolution, until I came across this. Initially I discounted it because it is the "Oxford history of..." but that was my mistake, I think. The author's understanding of France's development--the Enlightenment, the country-wide agrarian poverty, the recession of the 1790s, the class conflicts; other than the Monarchy, the absence of clear political cohesion; the international distrust of the Revolution, the antagonism between France and the other European powers--these and many more topics were thoroughly interesting.
I am grateful I found this book. If readers have others to suggest, please do so. After all, my understand of the French Revolution was based on Tale of Two Cities, from the eighth grade.
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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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- Kindle CustomerReviewed in Brazil on April 11, 2023
(surprisingly) it lacks organisation
