The Sans-Culottes - by Albert Soboul (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A riveting portrait of the radical and militant partisans who changed the course of the French Revolution

A phenomenon of the preindustrial age, the sans-culottes--master craftsmen, shopkeepers, small merchants, domestic servants--were as hostile to the ideas of capitalist bourgeoisie as they were to those of the ancien régime that was overthrown in the first years of the French Revolution. For half a decade, their movement exerted a powerful control over the central wards of Paris and other large commercial centers, changing the course of the revolution. Here is a detailed portrait of who these people were and a sympathetic account of their moment in history.

From the Back Cover

'This book is. . .concerned with the study of the all-important social force within the revolutionary process in France between 1793 and 1794, during the period of the Jacobin dictatorship of Public Safety, that is to say, with the Paris of the sans-culottes, organized in forty-eight sections.'

Review Quotes

"I know of no book as good as this that brings the revolutionary masses so vividly to light."-- "New York Times Book Review"

About the Author

Albert Soboul (1914-1982) held the Chair of History of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne. His books include A Short History of the French Revolution, 1789-1799.