The story of three young provincials of no great heritage who together helped to destroy a way of life and, in the process, destroyed themselves: Camille Desmoulins, bisexual and beautiful, charming, erratic, untrustworthy; Georges Jacques Danton, hugely but erotically ugly, a brilliant pragmatist who knew how to seize power and use it; and Maximilien Robespierre, "the rabid lamb," who would send his dearest friend to the guillotine. Each, none older than thirty-four, would die by the hand of the very revolution he had helped to bring into being.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1876.

Against the dramatic backdrop of the French Revolution, historian Scurr tracks Robespierre's evolution from lawyer to revolutionary leader. This is a fascinating portrait of a man who identified with the Revolution to the point of madness, and in so doing changed the course of history.

How the Radical Enlightenment inspired and shaped the French Revolution Historians of the French Revolution used to take for granted what was also obvious to its contemporary observers—that the Revolution was shaped by the radical ideas of the Enlightenment. Yet in recent decades, scholars have argued that the Revolution was brought about by social forces, politics, economics, or culture—almost anything but abstract notions like liberty or equality. In Revolutionary Ideas, one of the world's leading historians of the Enlightenment restores the Revolution’s intellectual history to its rightful central role. Drawing widely on primary sources, Jonathan Israel shows how the Revolution was set in motion by radical eighteenth-century doctrines, how these ideas divided revolutionary leaders into vehemently opposed ideological blocs, and how these clashes drove the turning points of the Revolution. In this compelling account, the French Revolution stands once again as a culmination of the emancipatory and democratic ideals of the Enlightenment. That it ended in the Terror represented a betrayal of those ideas—not their fulfillment.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX. No. i. Unpublished Fragments Of Camille Desmoulins' Writings. All that comes from the pen of a great writer has a real importance, and especially whatever is left unfinished and can give, not a more perfect, but a more lifelike, idea of him. In certain fragments by political writers, as in a painter's sketches, though barely outlined, we discover the personality, the manner, and, as it were, the peculiar bent of the author's talent. The unpublished fragments which follow are therefore given as sketches. It will be seen in them how Desmoulins 'worked, making orderly notes tabulated as subjects and words, so that the journalist had at his disposal an alphabetical repertory, a portable arsenal of quotations. More than one article merely begun will also be found in these Notes. I have had to select from among them so as not to make my volume too large. The authenticity of these Fragments is indisputable; M. Carteron copied them from Camille s manuscripts, in the possession of Baron Girardot; a piece of good luck by which zee have profited, thanks to the politeness of M. F. Lock, who had these documents from M. Edouard Carteron. Manners of the Romans. Romulus divides the soil of the country into three parts: one for religion; another for the support of the government; he distributes the third' portion among the citizens. Hence, no taxes. In the beginning there were patricians and plebeians in Rome; but this distinction of the patricians in the beginning, the word patrici, meant only, some authors say, those who could give the name of their fathers. How many bastards there must have been in the thirty-five tribes! The dignity of a prince of the Senate conferred only rank, without power. This post was, however, most honourable, ..