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[mersirena.livejournal.com]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone could recommend the best, most informative non-fiction books on the French Revolution. I'll be purchasing several, as I need a broad range of topics, from music and art, to politics and economics. I browsed through quite a few entries, but I mostly found recommendations for novels and the like.

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[estellacat.livejournal.com]

Having finished Fatal Purity, I wouldn't recommend it in particular. I've read a lot of biographies of Robespierre and this one not only brings nothing particularly new to the table, it doesn't keep in mind what others have had to say before it or make much use of the newest studies. Moreover, Scurr makes some questionable judgments on her subject that don't seem paricularly well-supported. Still, with the possible exception of G. Rudé, you're not likely to find much better in English, unfortunately.

[trf-chan.livejournal.com]

^This about sums up my thoughts on Fatal Purity, too. To my (admittedly foggy, since I read it 2 years ago) recollection, it starts out pretty good and gradually gets worse. I think there was one point where I was tempted to throw the damn thing across the room, but I don't remember what part of the book that was. XD;

[estellacat.livejournal.com]

I second your recollections and add that I read it 2 years ago as well, which would be reason for not giving more specific examples.