John Hardman is one of the world’s leading experts on the French Revolution and the author of several distinguished books on the subject, including The Life of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and Barnave.

“This is a book of exceptional clarity and analytical force, reliant on evidence and not on supposition, and tells the story with great conviction.”—Simon Heffer, Telegraph“In the past, most academic scholarship on the French Revolution emphasized its social causes; a recent shift turned the focus to cultural factors involving past language and attitudes of mind. Mr. Hardman instead stresses the politics and the people who drove it. He highlights many points previously neglected and shows why revolution devoured its children in a frenzy.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street JournalA Telegraph Book of the Year 2025“Hardman has gone back to the archives, back to the papers and the manuscripts, and managed to suggest, quite reasonably, that when it comes to deciding upon the French Revolution, there is still more to say.”—Michael Taylor, Literary Review“Hardman weaves [his] expertise into a portrait of the French Revolution as a whole, seen emphatically and rarely, from the top down.”—David Andress, BBC History Magazine“While much of this saga is familiar, Hardman brings his own twists to the tale. . . . Drawing on his earlier work as a biographer of Louis XVI, he is particularly effective in presenting the perspective of the royal court.”—Simon Macdonald, History Today“John Hardman provides a compelling and highly readable account of the great political upheaval that was the French Revolution.”—Julian Swann, author of Exile, Imprisonment, or Death“A triumph of scholarship and original interpretation. Another masterpiece which will cause a stir in the world of French Revolutionary studies.”—Ambrogio Caiani, author of Losing a Kingdom, Gaining the World“Fascinating and important. . . . A highly original and important contribution to the history of the French Revolution.”—Munro Price, author of Napoleon “Hardman offers a revisionist and explicitly political history of the Revolution that places much of the blame for failure on an experiment in constitutional monarchy which denied the king any meaningful executive role.”—Alan Forrest, author of Waterloo “John Hardman has devoted many years to the study of the political history of the French Revolution as it was seen from the perspective of the monarchy. In this latest book he distils his knowledge in a readable and often insightful account.”—Marisa Linton, author Choosing Terror

John Hardman is one of the world’s leading experts on the French Revolution and the author of several distinguished books on the subject, including The Life of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and Barnave.

“This is a book of exceptional clarity and analytical force, reliant on evidence and not on supposition, and tells the story with great conviction.”—Simon Heffer, Telegraph“In the past, most academic scholarship on the French Revolution emphasized its social causes; a recent shift turned the focus to cultural factors involving past language and attitudes of mind. Mr. Hardman instead stresses the politics and the people who drove it. He highlights many points previously neglected and shows why revolution devoured its children in a frenzy.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street JournalA Telegraph Book of the Year 2025“Hardman has gone back to the archives, back to the papers and the manuscripts, and managed to suggest, quite reasonably, that when it comes to deciding upon the French Revolution, there is still more to say.”—Michael Taylor, Literary Review“Hardman weaves [his] expertise into a portrait of the French Revolution as a whole, seen emphatically and rarely, from the top down.”—David Andress, BBC History Magazine“While much of this saga is familiar, Hardman brings his own twists to the tale. . . . Drawing on his earlier work as a biographer of Louis XVI, he is particularly effective in presenting the perspective of the royal court.”—Simon Macdonald, History Today“John Hardman provides a compelling and highly readable account of the great political upheaval that was the French Revolution.”—Julian Swann, author of Exile, Imprisonment, or Death“A triumph of scholarship and original interpretation. Another masterpiece which will cause a stir in the world of French Revolutionary studies.”—Ambrogio Caiani, author of Losing a Kingdom, Gaining the World“Fascinating and important. . . . A highly original and important contribution to the history of the French Revolution.”—Munro Price, author of Napoleon “Hardman offers a revisionist and explicitly political history of the Revolution that places much of the blame for failure on an experiment in constitutional monarchy which denied the king any meaningful executive role.”—Alan Forrest, author of Waterloo “John Hardman has devoted many years to the study of the political history of the French Revolution as it was seen from the perspective of the monarchy. In this latest book he distils his knowledge in a readable and often insightful account.”—Marisa Linton, author Choosing Terror