When the ancien regime collapsed during the summer of 1789 the newspaper press was free for the first time in French history. The result was an explosion in the number of newspapers with over 2,000 titles appearing between 1789 and 1799. This study, originally published in 1988, traces the growth of the French Press during this time, showing the importance of the emergence of provincial newspapers, and examining the relationship of journalism with political power. Concluding chapters discuss the economics of newspapers during the decade, analysing the machinery of printing, distribution and sales.

Why has the guillotine become one of the best known symbols of the French Revolution? Why did a revolution, which set out to provide French people with constitutional government and freedom in 1789, end up with a dictatorship that executed tens of thousands of them in 1793-4? Such questions have fascinated observers of the French Revolution since the 1790s and those concerning the Terror have remained the most controversial.This book examines the arguments, analyses the Terror's background and plots a path through the historical minefield that lies between the fall of the Bastille in 1789 and the work of the guillotine during the Terror. It puts the Terror into context and shows how events and ideas interacted to create an event that has haunted the political imagination of Europe ever since.

Product Description: These ten studies by leading French and British historians examine various aspects of de Gaulle's life and political career.