The best Reign of Terror books

What is my book about?

The French Revolution began with the expectation of creating a better world, but ultimately, for many of the people most committed to it, it became a personal tragedy. This book explores the experience of revolution from the point of view of the men who led it, investigating the gradual process whereby people who began as humanitarians, under pressure of the tumultuous circumstances of revolutionary crisis, war, and political destabilisation, ‘chose terror’ to defend their revolution. Terror rebounded on the men who led it – many of whom themselves became victims.

My book explores the interplay between high-minded ideologies and fraught emotions, above all, it shows the impact of expectations that revolutionaries should show exemplary and authentic integrity in public office, which would contrast with the corruption and political cronyism of the old regime.

What is my book about?

More than any other political figure from the French revolutionary era, Maximilien Robespierre divides historians: some see him as an embodiment of totalitarian evil, others the shining champion of the popular cause and of individual freedoms. In my recently-published The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris (Oxford University Press), I tried a novel approach by exploring how this enigmatic figure behaved over the 24 hours of the political crisis that led to his overthrow and death by guillotine.

As he saw his plans for the Revolution rejected point-blank not only by fellow politicians but also by the ordinary people of Paris whose welfare he had always championed, his fall took on the features of Greek tragedy. 

What is my book about?

In my book, I seek to lay out, in as clear and uncomplicated a fashion as possible, the origins and development of the revolution, from the early promise of a buoyant slogan ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ to its trashing when a cruelly vindictive spirit took over and perverted the tone and mission of a movement towards a new compassion and consideration of public welfare. 

Meticulously researched and drawing on many French sources the story is here in as direct a form as I could make it. A big sweep of history, by no means comprehensive – that would become unreadable – but it covers all the signal events from the storming of the Bastille and onward. 

What is my book about?

The French Revolution began with the expectation of creating a better world, but ultimately, for many of the people most committed to it, it became a personal tragedy. This book explores the experience of revolution from the point of view of the men who led it, investigating the gradual process whereby people who began as humanitarians, under pressure of the tumultuous circumstances of revolutionary crisis, war, and political destabilisation, ‘chose terror’ to defend their revolution. Terror rebounded on the men who led it – many of whom themselves became victims.

My book explores the interplay between high-minded ideologies and fraught emotions, above all, it shows the impact of expectations that revolutionaries should show exemplary and authentic integrity in public office, which would contrast with the corruption and political cronyism of the old regime.

What is my book about?

The French Revolution began with the expectation of creating a better world, but ultimately, for many of the people most committed to it, it became a personal tragedy. This book explores the experience of revolution from the point of view of the men who led it, investigating the gradual process whereby people who began as humanitarians, under pressure of the tumultuous circumstances of revolutionary crisis, war, and political destabilisation, ‘chose terror’ to defend their revolution. Terror rebounded on the men who led it – many of whom themselves became victims.

My book explores the interplay between high-minded ideologies and fraught emotions, above all, it shows the impact of expectations that revolutionaries should show exemplary and authentic integrity in public office, which would contrast with the corruption and political cronyism of the old regime.

What is my book about?

In my book, I seek to lay out, in as clear and uncomplicated a fashion as possible, the origins and development of the revolution, from the early promise of a buoyant slogan ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ to its trashing when a cruelly vindictive spirit took over and perverted the tone and mission of a movement towards a new compassion and consideration of public welfare. 

Meticulously researched and drawing on many French sources the story is here in as direct a form as I could make it. A big sweep of history, by no means comprehensive – that would become unreadable – but it covers all the signal events from the storming of the Bastille and onward. 

What is my book about?

The French Revolution has fascinated, perplexed, and inspired for more than two centuries. It was a seismic event that radically transformed France and launched shock waves across the world.

In this new history, I sought to create a fresh account of one of the world’s great revolutions—its origins, drama, complexity, and significance. Was the Revolution a major turning point in French—even world—history, or was it instead a protracted period of violent upheaval and warfare that wrecked millions of lives? We also need to examine the varying experiences of most French citizens who lived outside the gates of the city: the provincial men and women whose daily lives were overwhelmed by revolution and war. The stories of individuals who struggled to cope in such unpredictable times enable us to enter the social and cultural world of the eighteenth century which was transformed by France’s age of revolution. Life would never be the same again for anyone.

What is my book about?

The French Revolution began with the expectation of creating a better world, but ultimately, for many of the people most committed to it, it became a personal tragedy. This book explores the experience of revolution from the point of view of the men who led it, investigating the gradual process whereby people who began as humanitarians, under pressure of the tumultuous circumstances of revolutionary crisis, war, and political destabilisation, ‘chose terror’ to defend their revolution. Terror rebounded on the men who led it – many of whom themselves became victims.

My book explores the interplay between high-minded ideologies and fraught emotions, above all, it shows the impact of expectations that revolutionaries should show exemplary and authentic integrity in public office, which would contrast with the corruption and political cronyism of the old regime.

What is my book about?

On August 2, 1982, three generations of a family set out on a camping trip – Bob and Jackie Johnson, their two daughters, Janet, 13 and Karen, 11, and Jackie's parents, George, and Edith Bentley. A month later, the Johnson family car was found off a mountainside logging road near Wells Gray Park completely burned out. In the back seat were the incinerated remains of four adults, and in the trunk were the two girls.

Murder Times Six shines a spotlight on the crime that captured the attention of a nation, recounts the narrative of a complex police investigation, and discusses whether a convicted mass murderer should ever be allowed to leave the confines of an institution. Most importantly, it tells the story of one family forever changed.

What is my book about?

The French Revolution began with the expectation of creating a better world, but ultimately, for many of the people most committed to it, it became a personal tragedy. This book explores the experience of revolution from the point of view of the men who led it, investigating the gradual process whereby people who began as humanitarians, under pressure of the tumultuous circumstances of revolutionary crisis, war, and political destabilisation, ‘chose terror’ to defend their revolution. Terror rebounded on the men who led it – many of whom themselves became victims.

My book explores the interplay between high-minded ideologies and fraught emotions, above all, it shows the impact of expectations that revolutionaries should show exemplary and authentic integrity in public office, which would contrast with the corruption and political cronyism of the old regime.