The Ancien R馮ime and the Revolution (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780141441641)

A powerful new translation of de Tocqueville's influential look at the origins of modern France

The Ancien R馮ime and the Revolution is a comparison of revolutionary France and the despotic rule it toppled. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) is an objective observer of both periods - providing a merciless critique of the ancien r馮ime, with its venality, oppression and inequality, yet acknowledging the reforms introduced under Louis XVI, and claiming that the post-Revolution state was in many ways as tyrannical as that of the King; its once lofty and egalitarian ideals corrupted and forgotten. Writing in the 1850s, Tocqueville wished to expose the return to despotism he witnessed in his own time under Napoleon III, by illuminating the grand, but ultimately doomed, call to liberty made by the French people in 1789. His eloquent and instructive study raises questions about liberty, nationalism and justice that remain urgent today.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Author: Alexis de Tocqueville
ISBN-10: 014144164X
ISBN-13: 9780141441641
Publisher: Penguin Group
Language: English
Published: 08/01/2008
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.50h x 5.00w x 0.90d