Twelve Who Ruled: The Year Of The Terror In The French Revolution
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
In the crucible of revolution, twelve men held the fate of France in their hands — and Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution by R. R. Palmer chronicles the extraordinary and terrifying year between 1793 and 1794 when the Committee of Public Safety wielded near-absolute power over a nation consumed by war, political chaos, and internal rebellion. Palmer presents each of the twelve members of this infamous committee as a fully realized historical figure, tracing their individual characters, motivations, and the impossible decisions they were forced to make as they navigated the violent contradictions of revolutionary ideology and political survival. Set against the backdrop of guillotines, foreign invasion, and the relentless pressure of a revolution devouring its own children, the narrative unfolds with the urgency and moral complexity of a political thriller grounded in meticulous scholarship. A landmark work of twentieth-century historiography, first published in 1941, Palmer's study argues that the Terror was not the work of simple fanatics or monsters, but of men who were, in many ways, principled and capable — trapped within a system that demanded blood to sustain itself. His prose balances rigorous archival research with a vivid, humanizing narrative style, illuminating how ordinary political actors can become instruments of extraordinary violence. A testament to the enduring relevance of the French Revolution, this essential volume leaves the reader questioning how power corrupts not with sudden malice, but with the slow, creeping logic of necessity.
Author: R. R. Palmer
Format: Paperback
Genre: European history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
In the crucible of revolution, twelve men held the fate of France in their hands — and Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution by R. R. Palmer chronicles the extraordinary and terrifying year between 1793 and 1794 when the Committee of Public Safety wielded near-absolute power over a nation consumed by war, political chaos, and internal rebellion. Palmer presents each of the twelve members of this infamous committee as a fully realized historical figure, tracing their individual characters, motivations, and the impossible decisions they were forced to make as they navigated the violent contradictions of revolutionary ideology and political survival. Set against the backdrop of guillotines, foreign invasion, and the relentless pressure of a revolution devouring its own children, the narrative unfolds with the urgency and moral complexity of a political thriller grounded in meticulous scholarship. A landmark work of twentieth-century historiography, first published in 1941, Palmer's study argues that the Terror was not the work of simple fanatics or monsters, but of men who were, in many ways, principled and capable — trapped within a system that demanded blood to sustain itself. His prose balances rigorous archival research with a vivid, humanizing narrative style, illuminating how ordinary political actors can become instruments of extraordinary violence. A testament to the enduring relevance of the French Revolution, this essential volume leaves the reader questioning how power corrupts not with sudden malice, but with the slow, creeping logic of necessity.