Citizens

A Chronicle of the French Revolution

By: Simon Schama

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

From one of the truly preeminent historians of our time, this is a landmark book chronicling the French Revolution. Simon Schama deftly refutes the contemporary notion that the French Revolution represented an uprising of the oppressed poor against a decadent aristocracy and corrupt court. He argues instead that the revolution was born of a rift among the elite over the speed of progress toward modernity and science, social and economic change. Schama’s approach, weaving in and out of private and public lives in the fashion of a novel, brings us closer than we have ever been to the harrowing and seductive French Revolution.

Simon Schama is a professor of art history and history at Columbia University and is the author of numerous award-winning books; his history Rough Crossings won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction. He has written and presented more than thirty documentaries for the BBC, PBS, and the History Channel.

©1989 Simon Schama (P)1990 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Lively descriptions of major events, colorful cameos of leading characters (and obscure ones too), bring them to life here as no other general work has done…Above all, Mr. Schama tells a story, and he tells it well…A delight to read.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“An immensely readable work of distinguished scholarship that guillotined many of the romantic myths about the beginning of French democracy.” ( Time)

wonderful book, problem performance

This is a great book, wonderfully written, lively and intelligent. My review however is a plea to Frederick Davidson. Obviously Audible loves him, so I hope this can reach him somehow. This reader would make the Sermon on the Mountain sound like a sneering, scoffing insult. "And blessed be the humble and the meek... yeah, right..." A reader should be a transparent vessel for the book, not an interpreter, and a misplaced interpreter at that. And what about the falsetto voice whenever a woman speaks? What's the matter with men who read women in falsetto? Women are people too! Please stop that, it's offensive and makes them all sound like caricatures! There is no reason on earth to single women out that way -- for the listener is perfectly capable to understand when it's the narrator who speaks and when it's the character. Since there is no significant change of tone and voice when a male character speaks, then I see no need to make a special case for women.
These mannerisms -- the voice dripping with misplaced sarcasm, and the falsetto -- badly mar this book. I know at least one person who had to return it because of that. Couldn't stand to listen to it.
And incidentally, yes, the recording still skips. I am now right in the middle of the book, and the skipping occurred mostly in the first one third. It hasn't skipped for the last three hours or so. But when it does, it's extremely disruptive and crucial information is lost.

a bit arch

Reader a bit arch, better to interpret his mannerisms as camp. otherwise, argument by vinnette.

Well done

While it is true that there are some technical problems with the recording, the benefit of this historical narrative is well worth the minor frustrations in said recording. There are many reasons one should choose this work for their time but one in particular is the comprehensive nature of the work. It allows us to see both the good and the bad and I believe that the author did an excellent job in maintaining a family neutral position and give oboe facts and not conclusions. This title is well worth the listen or read for any person who want to have a more comprehensive grasp of history.

Worth every minute

A superb history. One wishes for the time and resources to follow almost every character into his/her biography. Does the appalling violence on display still lurk in the bosom of France?
Davidson’s arch and detached style suits the material perfectly. It wouldn’t do to have the narrator break into fits of derisory laughter at the pomposity of so many self-serving “idealists”, nor to succumb to sobs as the unimaginable cruelties unfold.

Making Sense of the French Revolution

Throughout my extensive readings on the French Revolution, I have often encountered a degree of ambiguity and complexity that hindered full comprehension. This particular account, however, brings much-needed clarity, offering a more nuanced and coherent understanding of the multifaceted nature of this historical event. The author’s effective integration of rigorous historical analysis with a compelling narrative style significantly enhanced my grasp of the subject.