The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791

Rating:
Summary: Dense, but extremely rewarding
Review: What most astonishes me about this book is that it had not, long since, been written by someone else.

Van Kley is at his most persuasive when he shows how French citizens, usually from quite respectable backgrounds, often ended up doing hard time (there was no other kind there)in the Bastille, mainly over their religious views (which put them, at the same time, at enmity with the crown).

So, if you have ever wished for an interpretation of the French Revolution that actually seems to flow from the sources, this is your book.

It may blow right by you at first; if so, don't worry. Go back and re-read in smorgasbord fashion. Some of the opinions the French crown was ready to die for are so absurd to us they can hardly be grasped on a cursory reading.