The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748–1789 by Robert Darnton

Part of our French Revolution Season shop collection 

In The Revolutionary Temper, historian Robert Darnton explores the French Revolution through the eyes of Parisians who lived it. Rather than focusing only on economic crises or political theory, Darnton reveals how news, gossip, pamphlets, songs, and everyday conversations shaped public opinion and fuelled the storming of the Bastille in 1789. Drawing on decades of research, he shows how shifting perceptions, scandals, and stories eroded royal authority and transformed French society. A vivid and original account that brings the Revolution to life from the inside.