Histoire de la Révolution française (Michelet)

Overview

Jules Michelet's Histoire de la Révolution française is a seven-volume history of 1789–1794 (the seven volumes are those transcribed on Wikisource), written after his Histoire de France had reached the end of the Middle Ages and published from 1847. Michelet casts the Revolution as the people's own work and writes it with passionate rhetoric, the quality Marie finds "nuageux et cotonneux". (Publication years 1847–1853 are the standard bibliographic dates and were not re-verified in this pass.)

Marie and this work

24 January 1883 (098.0144): she tells her diary that she cannot fall asleep each evening before reading two chapters of "La Révolution" de Michelet, and that this is why, when the old Bocher leaves, she probably blunders by declaring she holds "des opinions abominables" (the political talk of the salon).

5 May 1884 (104.0116): a delivery of Zola "complet", Renan "complet" and volumes of Taine prompts a comparison. She prefers Taine's La Révolution (part of Les Origines de la France contemporaine) to Michelet's: "Michelet est nuageux et cotonneux et malgré son parti-pris du sublime", whereas Taine, "à ce qu'on dit", set out to show the Revolution in an ugly light.

Identification note

Marie writes only "La Révolution" de Michelet; the identification with the Histoire de la Révolution française is certain (it is Michelet's one book on the subject). It is distinct from the Histoire de France of 1877–78 (see Histoire de France (Michelet)).

References in Diary

Sources