Origins of the French Revolution

This text is a guide to what brought about the French Revolution, and to the debates of historians about the issue. It combines a full critical account of recent controversies with a fresh interpretation taking stock of where the debate has led. Since 1980 discussion among historians has continued as lively as ever, and has moved in directions scarcely explored at that time. The "revisionist" criticism which destroyed the classic mid-century consensus emphasizing the Revolution's social and economic origins has opened the way to a "post-revisionist" approach focused on cultural change.