Living the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon

By: Suzanne M. Desan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Suzanne M. Desan

Length: 24 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The 25 years between the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Bourbon Restoration after Napoleon in 1814 is an astonishing period in world history. This era shook the foundations of the old world and marked a permanent shift for politics, religion, and society - not just for France, but for all of Europe. An account of the events alone reads like something out of a thrilling novel:

• France’s oppressed and hungry masses rise up against their government.
• In Paris, crowds storm the Bastille looking for bread and weaponry.
• Rumors, panic, and fear grip the nation as it faces an uncertain future.
• The National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the first bold step toward the invention of democratic politics and a republican state.
• A young Corsican named Napoleon Bonaparte stuns Europe with his military strategy and political boldness.

Living the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon is your opportunity to learn the full story of this captivating period. Taught by Dr. Suzanne M. Desan, these 48 exciting lectures give you a broad and comprehensive survey of one of the most important eras in modern history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

Masterful series

Professor Desan did a wonderful job telling the story of the French Revolution in an approachable and engaging way. Each lecture is so carefully worded and thoughtfully structured. Her use of rhetorical questions to pause at junctures for reflection on broader themes helps cement key lessons from each chapter. The series was in no way deficient on this subject, but even more focus on the Empire would have been appreciated by this reviewer given its duration relative to the Revolution’s more tumultuous years. Hands down, one of the best historical lecture series I have come across so far.

Interesting but very lefty Marxist take on a subject

I don’t question the depth of knowledge, erudition and passion on the subject. Still this course can be read without any changes in a Soviet University in 1970-early 1980th (when I was a student in one of those universities ). It’s thoroughly Marxist radical left view of the subject. To cite one example author tread lightly over the Jacobin terror in slightly regretful but understanding tone, to reserve her passion and much more details to denunciations of the Gironde or so called white terror. Interesting that completely missing are comparisons to Russian revolution, Terror and Stalinism which were much closer in nature to French Revolution and buonopartism than comparative analysis to American revolution and central and South American liberation. The latter ones were not so much social and political revolutions than anti colonial liberation movements.

Very good

I feel it gave me a great intro topic and very engaging. I am a bit of a history fan but knew very little about the French revolution and its ramifications. There was a lot of information but presented well so easy to understand.

Highly recommend it.

I listened to it over a two day period at double speed. My only complaint is the applause at the beginning and end of lectures.

Enjoyed the format

I enjoyed the lecture format and the narrator was authoritative and easy to listen to. I will be seeking out additional content in The Great Courses offerings.

Great Course on a wild tkme

After giving this a listen I can safety say I know a shit ton more about the revolution and Napoleon. I wish it focused a little more of the daily lives of peasants during that time, but I can see why you'd need to keep it focus on the major players.

the recording has aged poorly compared to updated courses

Fascinating!!

History lessons for the struggle of liberty. Simply mind blowing chain of events that affects our world till present day.

Excellent Presentation

What about Professor Suzanne M. Desan’s performance did you like?

Professor Desan's enthusiasm really brought this topic to life. She did an excellent job explaining what was going on in ancien regime France that brought about such a profound event and the revolution's impact on France and Europe. In fact, I have a much better understanding of why the French Revolution is still so important to the French, perhaps even more so than our own. Finally, her lectures on Napoleon were balanced and nuanced. Napoleon is treacherous territory for any historian, but she traversed it with skill and aplomb.

An effective overview of the French Revolution

I've been looking for an English language history of the French Revolution and I'm very happy to have found this course.

What I wanted was an overview of what happened during the french revolution and the Napoleonic wars and this course was almost exactly what I was looking for.

I might suggest that they split the topics into two courses, one for Napoleon and one for the revolution as even with something like 38 chapters it feels like we are missing some of the depth that would be helpful in understanding the subject matter.

Very informative, a little bit dull.

The professor was clearly extremely knowledgeable on the subject, and you can tell she cares deeply about it. She wasn't monotone, but neither was she particularly lively. I prefer lectures with a bit more anecdote which bring the subject more "to life", such as when the professor visited X place or a lively discussion on Y topic they once had.

The professor also clearly cares much more about the political and social than the military history, which is where my interests mostly lay, so I found myself repeatedly saying things like "How did X battle/Y campaign really happen?" or "What made the French army so effective at this time?" That isn't to say there is none of this, but it usually very quickly explained without much depth.

Overall, I am glad I listened to it, and glad I learned about this period of history which is integral to understanding our modern world, even if it didn't hold my interest quite as much as I'd hoped.