France & Europe, 1789–1815
Revolution & Napoleon
From the storming of the Bastille to Waterloo: hope, terror and the first celebrity general.
what's actually going on
The French Revolution is the template for every mass movement since: a genuine grievance, an accelerating purity spiral, the terror that eats its own, and then a talented opportunist who ends it by taking everything. It invented modern politics — left and right are seating positions from its assembly — and modern mobilisation: the nation in arms, the propaganda print, the personality cult. Every polarisation curve you're shown today is measured against this arc.
the books that prove it
- A Tale of Two Cities~200M copies by common estimate
- Les Misérablestens of millions, never out of print
- War and Peacethe canon's yardstick
- Sharpe seriesthe Napoleonic series engine, 30M+ career
The French Revolution and Trafalgar both chart top-ten in history podcasting.
more through this doorway
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
- Master and Commander
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Sharpe's Tiger
- Sharpe's Rifles
- Sharpe's Eagle
- Sharpe's Company
- Waterloo
- Post Captain
- Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
From the catalogue — matched on this period's subjects.
The scroll for this doorway isn't written yet — the books above are the way in.
Doorways with a scroll