Georges Lefebvre (1874-1959) was one of the most important twentieth-century historians of the French Revolution. His books include The Great Fear of 1789: Rural Panic in Revolutionary France (Princeton). Timothy Tackett is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine.

"Simply the best introduction to the study of the French Revolution available anywhere."--Nation "A pleasure to read... Lefebvre sets forth clearly the many causes of that insurrection and explains the influences exerted by the various classes and factions--the nobles and the clergy, on the one side, and the bourgeoisie and the peasantry on the other."--New Yorker "Much more than a history of 1789... [A] synthesis, conveying a philosophy of the Revolution as a whole, such as could be written only by a seasoned scholar."--American Historical Review

• Introduction by Timothy Tackett vii Note to the Princeton Classic Edition xxxi From the Translator's 1988 Preface xxxiii Prologue 1 PART I: THE ARISTOCRATIC REVOLUTION Chapter 1: The Aristocracy 7 Chapter 2: The Crisis of the Monarchy 21 PART II: THE BOURGEOIS REVOLUTION Chapter 3: The Bourgeoisie 39 Chapter 4: The First Victory of the Bourgeoisie 49 Chapter 5: The Estates-General 73 PART III: THE POPULAR REVOLUTION Chapter 6: The Mobilization of the Masses 93 Chapter 7: The Paris Revolution of July 14 108 Chapter 8: The Municipal Revolutions in the Provinces 121 PART IV: THE PEASANT REVOLUTION Chapter 9: The Peasantry 129 Chapter 10: The Agrarian Revolts and the Great Fear 142 PART V: THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND CITIZEN Chapter 11: The Problem of the Privileges 153 Chapter 12: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen 167 PART VI: THE OCTOBER DAYS Chapter 13: The Revolutionary Solution in the Balance 183 Chapter 14: The Popular Agitation 190 Chapter 15: The October Days: Confirmation by Violence 196 Conclusion 207 Appendix I: Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen 219 Appendix II: Other Books by Georges Lefebvre 223 Index 225