The Old Regime and the French Revolution

by Alexis de Tocqueville

Overview

The most important contribution to our understanding of the French Revolution was written almost one hundred years ago by Alexis de Tocqueville.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385092609
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/1955
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	256,092
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) was a French politician and theorist. He wrote Democracy in America after visiting the United States during which he observed various elements of the prison system. He continued on to serve in the French parliament and also wrote many works, including The Old Regime and the Revolution.

Table of Contents

Translator's Foreword

INTRODUCTION
by François Furet and Françoise Mélonio
The Genesis of The Old Regime and the Revolution
The Structure of the Work: Book One
The Structure of the Work: Book Two
The Structure of the Work: Book Three
The Evolution of the Work
Tocqueville's Files, Manuscripts, and Proofs
Note on This Edition

Preface
BOOK ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five

BOOK TWO
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve

BOOK THREE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Appendix

Tocqueville's Notes
Notes and Variants
Glossary
Index

What People are Saying About This

Gertrude Himmelfarb

A new translation and annotated edition of Tocqueville's The Old Regime and the Revolution would be a noteworthy publiching event on its own. The addition of a substantial essay by Francois Furet, France's preeminent historian, and Francoise Melonio, the editor of Tocqueville's collected works, makes it a major intellectual event as well. The Old Regime now takes its rightful place next to Democracy in America among the seminal documents of our time—as much as of Tocqueville's.

Editorial Reviews

This is a new translation of Tocqueville's last masterpiece, written in 1851. Best known as the author of Democracy in America, Tocqueville focuses here on the meaning and origin of the French Revolution. This volume is organized into three major subjects. First, it looks at the nature of the French Revolution. Second, it examines the origins of the revolution in an absolutist and aristocratic society. Finally, it considers the reasons for the sudden outbreak at the end of the 18th century. Tocqueville discusses the continuity of French political behavior in relation to persistent class hostility, government centralization, and the preservation of individual and political freedom. This book surpasses older editions of English translations because of its readability and because it is based on the French critical edition that includes the author's sources and materials from his drafts and revisions. Kahan (Florida International Univ.) is also translating the work's second volume, which is to be published in 1999 by the University of Chicago. Recommended for academic libraries.--Mary F. Salony, West Virginia Northern Community Coll. Lib., Wheeling

Library Journal

The first English translation of the forthcoming edition of the work to be published in France by Gallimard under the direction of Francoise M<'e>lonio and Francois Furet. Tocqueville's meditation on the origins and meanings of the French Revolution has been up-dated with current English vocabulary and usage making the classic accessible to general readers. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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