Research Guides: HIST 228: The French Revolution (HC): Background Information

Finding Background Information

The following sources provide overviews of ideas, people, and events in the history of the French Revolution. They are a quick way to find out the basic facts and current points of debate.

When using an article in an encyclopedia or handbook, always check the bibliography for further reading at the end of the article. It will provide a selective list of the books, articles, and, frequently, Web resources considered to be the most up-to-date and reliable.

Recommended Reading:

Professor Graham recommends the primary and secondary texts on this guide that deal with many different issues relating to the French Revolution.

For primary sources see also these major websites that present primary texts and visual images:

Encyclopedias and Handbooks

Companion to the French Revolution
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Presents twenty-nine essays reassessing the origins, development, and impact of this turning-point in modern history.
Also available as an ebook.
A critical dictionary of the French Revolution
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Translation of Dictionnaire critique de la Révolution française (Flammarion, 1988). A summary of contemporary scholarship presented as a collection of essays written by leading scholars. Valuable emphasis on historiography.
Dictionnaire de la révolution française: institutions, hommes & faits
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Dictionnaire de l'Ancien Régime
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Historical dictionary of the French Revolution 1789-1799
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Mapping Time: Illustrated by Minard's Map of Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812
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This book, illustrated by Minard's Map of Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812, considers the cartographic challenge of visualizing time on a map. Inspired by graphic innovator Charles Minard's classic map of France's disastrous invasion of Russia, this book combines historical and geographic analysis with cartographic visualizations of mapping change over time. It includes more than 100 full-color illustrations.

Oxford Art Online
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Includes full-text articles on every aspect of the visual arts from prehistory through the present. Contains images and provides links to related sites.

Oxford Handbook of the French Revolution
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Offers a comprehensive view of the historiography of the French Revolution. Topics range from the social, economic and demographic shifts underpinning the condition of France in the 1780s, through the varied international contexts of the revolutionary crisis, to a discussion of the turbulent 1790s, and concluding with reflections on the longer-term repercussions.

The Routledge Companion to the French Revolution in World History by Alan Forrest (Editor); Matthias Middell (Editor)
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This 2015 book engages with recent trends in scholarship by considering the Revolution in its global context. Across 17 chapters a team of contributors examine the impact of the Revolution in other regions (including the Caribbean) and its enduring legacy in the modern world.
A Short History of the French Revolution by Jeremy D. Popkin
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Published in 2020, this history of France from 1787 to 1815 includes discussions on race and gender as it concerns the French Revolution. Available online.

Web Sites

The French Revolution (Section of the Voice of the Shuttle)
A select list of print and image online resources. Includes material on pamphlets, newspapers, and painters.
Hatian Revolution
Research guide from Santa Clara University. Note in particular the primary sources page.
Revolutionary France: 1750-1815
Guide from Emory University noting resources created in France, both print and online.
Women in the French Revolution: A Resource Guide
This guide is rich in primary sources and visual images. It comes from the Library of Congress.

Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are an especially useful resource when doing research. They address the issues involved in a particular question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles for greater understanding.

History Compass
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This journal publishes literature reviews exclusively. See relevant articles including:
Remembering and forgetting: How France's slaving ports have come to terms with their past - Alan Forrest (2020)
Navigating Haiti's History: Saint‐Domingue and the Haitian Revolution - Robert Taber (2015)
Family, the State, and Law in Early Modern and Revolutionary France - Matthew Gerber (2009)
Oxford Bibliographies Online
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Extensive annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a variety of subject areas written by scholars in the field. All sections are under development with new essays added twice a year.. Essays of interest now available include:
Emancipation (in the Jewish Studies section).
French Emancipation (in the Atlantic History section)
The French Revolution (in the Atlantic History section)
The Haitian Revolution (in the Atlantic History section)
The Haitian Revolution (in the Latin American Studies section)
The Impact of the French Revolution in the Caribbean (in the Atlantic History section)
Jacques-Louis David (in the Art History section)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (in the Philosophy section)

Dissertations & Theses
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ProQuest Dissertations and Theses is a collection of scholarly research in the Humanities and Social Sciences that consists of 2.7 million searchable citations to dissertations and theses from around the world, and 1.2 million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Coverage is from 1861 to the present day.

Atlases

Atlas de la Révolution française
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This 11-volume set provides in-depth information on many topics including roads, education, and political societies.
Atlas de l'histoire de France
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Thematic atlas for French history 16th through 19th centuries.
Atlas de l'empire Napoléonien, 1799-1815
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More than 100 maps and graphs explaining the Napoleonic era.
Maps of the French Revolution
Thirteen recently created maps representing regional, national and international issues.