Books on the French Revolution

[ruby27]

I fancy doing some reading on the French Revolution. A period of history that fascinates me. I am just doing this for my own pleasure, not serious studying. Does anyone know of any books to recommend on this subject?

thank you

[jake-the-peg]

You might be interested in this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/ inourtime_history.shtml

The Terror - when Madame Guillotine ruled France (third box down

A 40 minute radio discussion program on the period

[stewey]

"A Tale of Two Cities", by Charles Dickens. Although it is not a factual historical account of the period, it will give you 'a feeling' as to what life must have been like in that era.

[shaneystar2]

Citizens by Simon Sharma ..huge book on the lead up to and the first period of the revolution.He's a wonderful writer and brings history to life.Don't forget good old Baroness Orczy and her Scarlet Pimpernel novels if you can get hold of them .Tales of derring do and romance but very readable .

[ruby27]

Thank you for your answers

jake-the-peg. I certainly will go to 'in our time'. I am particularly pleased with the link because I enjoyed the radio programme but rarely heard it, and I am not yet in the way of thinking use the Internet to pick up years of programming. I have no excuse for being bored for ages.

stewey. I have read quite a lot of Dickens but this not the 'A Tale of Two Cities so will try that. He is a very evocative writer, and reading him always does give you a feeling that you have gone back in time

shaneystar2. I will check out Simon Sharma. Actually I have recently purchased 4 of B O's books via Amazon. I read these as a teenager who half loved them because of the swashbuckling romance and what English girl would not have been in love with Sir Blakney, the other half was a very serious intense socialist who whilst totally against murder, fully supported the idealist aims of revolution.

[spudqueen]

A Tale of Two Cities is my favourite Charles Dickens book, deinifitley worth a read. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy is again fiction but also set during the period of the French Revolution.

[tiggerblue10]

I read a book about Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser and it gave a lot of insight into the revolution. I also read a book about her son, the dauphin, but I wouldn't recommend it as it was quite horrific. What they did to him was sick.