Ruth Scurr

Was the French Revolution inevitable?

Robert Darnton traces the build-up of revolutionary sentiment during the reign of Louis XV before public anger finally erupted under his hapless successor

‘The Taking of the Bastille, 14 July 1789’, by Jean-Pierre Houel. [Bridgeman] 
issue 28 October 2023

  • The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789

    Robert Darnton

    Allen Lane, pp. 576, £35

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Read next

Trending

Damian Thompson

The extraordinary scale of the crisis facing the next pope

From the magazine
At 9.47 a.m. on Easter Monday we heard the words ‘con profondo dolore’ from a cardinal standing in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. Two hours earlier, Pope Francis ‘è tornato alla casa del Padre’ – ‘had returned to the house of the Father’. Most people won’t have noticed a curious detail: the cardinal

More on child abduction

Also by Ruth Scurr

Latest

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in