Representing the French Revolution: Literature, Historiography, and Art

by James A. W. Heffernan (Editor)

Overview

Why is the anniversary of the French Revolution celebrated on July 14, the day the Bastille was stormed, rather than on August 26, the day the Declaration of the Rights of Man was signed? Why don’t the French do as the Americans, who see their revolution epitomized by the signing of the Declaration of Independence? “There is surely something to be learned from contemplating the difference between these two ways of representing a revolution,” writes James Heffernan. In this volume, he and 13 other distinguished scholars consider representations of the French Revolution in literature, historical narratives, and art as central to understanding it. Challenging the idea that history is a body of fact separable from fictions wrought by literature and the visual arts, they show that study of a major historical event inevitably leads to study of representation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780874515862
Publisher:	Dartmouth College Press
Publication date:	04/01/1992
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James A. W. Heffernan is a professor of English at Dartmouth College.

What People are Saying About This

Simon Schama

“I have a seriously supersaturated library on the subject myself but would most certainly want [Representing the French Revolution] for the insight and stimulation it offers . . It is not just another item in the sprawling offerings on cultural history . . . [Representing the French Revolution] deals very specifically with the interest in representation, language, and rhetoric that [is] now at the center of some of the most interesting work being done on the French Revolution . . . [Representing the French Revolution] is the best set of essays on the subject that we have.”