This book provides students and general readers with a history of France during the Revolution and Empire. It includes a narrative of events from the fall of the Bastille to the defeat of Napoleon, and a compelling analysis of why the revolution occurred.

The book explains how the French Revolution encountered opposition not only from the privileged but also from the common people. It examines and analyzes various forms of resistance that arose when it became apparent that the hopes of 1789 could not be realized. The Terror of 1793-4 aimed to annihilate this resistance and remake human nature, but its violence and financial policies crippled successor governments and liberal institutions.

Amidst a new round of war and domestic subversion, Napoleon eventually restored order but at the expense of many of the ideals of 1789.