a newbie to the revolution.

[take-a-sadsong.livejournal.com]

Hi there! I'm a homeschooled geeky highschooler, and I've always been interested in the French Revolution since I was much younger. I've read only a couple of children's books about the time, but those two have been some of my favorites (I'm re-reading one of them right now), and the whole culture just seems to fascinate me. However, I have absolutely no idea why there was a Revolution other than the commoners were angry with the royals and all that bit. All my textbooks seem to sort of skim the F. Rev., and focus in much more on The American one instead (which sort of makes sense, since I use American texts. :P).

Basically, I'm a newbie who wants to really get into the whole era, but I have no idea where to start. I know there's probably been a million posts on here of the sort (I apoligize, I couldn't find one!), but I really need book recommendations. :) What is a good starting book(s) for the overall Revolution and the Reign of Terror, that isn't too textbooky and boring? Don't get me wrong, I love dates of events and stuff, but sometimes it gets mind-numbing when the emotion of the times gets cut. If there's a huge book list somewhere for the Revolution, that'd be awesome too. The more the merrier. :)

Also, I have to ask: Was Robbespierre as bad as they all say he was? ;)

thanks so much! :D