Terror: Demons of the French Revolution

Terror is a mystery at the very heart of the 18th-century French Revolution. How could the struggle for freedom and human rights turn into such brutal and bloody repression and mass executions? And how did the guillotine, originally conceived as a way to make execution more humane, become a horrific instrument for destroying political enemies and a symbol of the Revolution itself—and along with it, of France as a whole—across the world? Two leading historians of the Revolution take on the task of presenting answers to these and other questions in their thorough study, examining the philosophical and political ideas, fears, and hopes that fueled the spread of violence among the people and how it made it possible to "break the law to save the law" everywhere. This edition, with illustrative maps and an extensive bibliography, will make an excellent gift for those interested in world and French history.