The French Revolution: A History. Volume 1: The Bastille (Version 2)
Thomas Carlyle
Read by Peter Dann
Subtitled "The Bastille", Volume 1 of Thomas Carlyle's three volume "The French Revolution: A History" was first published in 1837, and covers the events of the French Revolution up to the forced move of Louis XVI from Versailles to Paris. While a modern listener not already familiar with the events described here may need some time to get their bearings amidst a sea of unfamiliar names and allusions, Carlyle's idiosyncratic yet justly famous present-tense, quasi-firsthand narrative quickly builds into a gripping, highly dramatic story which contemporary scholars still regard as being essentially accurate.
It may help the reader to understand that the term 'Oeuil de Boeuf' signifies the palace of the French King, and that references to 'Jean Jacques' are to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose 1755 book "The Social Contract" argued that 'we are obliged to obey only legitimate powers'. - Summary by Peter Dann (11 hr 9 min)
Chapters
Reviews
Very well read
Jenna Hensley
Carlyle is like nothing else, with the French, the Biblical and Classical references.
The narrator is incredible
William Weatherall
He handles Carlyle’s varied prose with mastery. Give it a listen.
Beautiful book, great reading
bing bong
Good audio, all the same reader. Peter Dan does an excellent job reading such a poetic history. Odd for a history book to use such poetic language, but it quickly grew on me. Offered some color to a thoroughly talked about moment in time. One of my favorites
Wonderful
A LibriVox Listener
This is an invaluable narration. Very well done!