Neither stagnant nor reactionary, the French nobility,Īt least its most audible and visible members, were more open to new blood, ideas and ventures than they had ever been. The old regime was not old, nor did it act anachronistic, fusty or decrepit. Schama, was no bourgeois thrust against stodgy despotism or anachronistic aristocracy. His arguments, though, are embedded in narrative. But nowhere more than here does he challenge enduring prejudices with prejudices of his own. Schama, who teaches historyĪt Harvard University, has committed other large and readable tomes. Provocative and stylish, Simon Schama's account of the first few years of the great Revolution in France, and of the decades that led up to it, is thoughtful, informed and profoundly revisionist. Once hefted, however, and well balanced on lap, knee or chest, ''Citizens'' will prove hard to put down. Those who like to do their poring lying down will scarcely rush to take up this book. Section 7, Column 3 Book Review Deskīy EUGEN WEBER Eugen Weber, a professor of history at the University of California at Los Angeles, is the author of ''Peasants Into Frenchmen.''ĬITIZENS A Chronicle of the French Revolution. Schama tells a story, and he tells it well." - The New York Times Book Review "Citizens, like the great 19th-century narratives it emulates, makes entertainment and erudition work hand in hand.As no other recent historian of the revolution, Schama brings to life the excitement - and harrowing terror - of an epochal human event." - Newsweek "A fresh and elegant narrative.A brilliantly readable and beautifully illustrated account." - Washington Post Book World "We are in the hands of a master storyteller.Vivid, dramatic, thought-provoking.Schama's portrait of the revolution is often surprising.His splendid recounting convinces us that much of what we thought we knew is wrong.March 19, 1989, Sunday, Late City Final Edition His chronicle is, after all, a stunningly virtuoso performance." - Lawrence Stone, The New Republic "One of The Best Books Of The Decade." - Time "Monumental.a delight to read.Lively descriptions of major events, colorful cameos of leading characters (and obscure ones too), bring them to life here as no other general work has done.Above all, Mr. The virtues of this book in the coruscating brilliance of dazzling display of erudition and intelligence.
He also chronicle with a dramatic burst of poetic imagination.
" is no ordinary book.Schama does not merely write brilliantly about people, about events, about the abuse of rhetoric, and about festivals and executions.
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