The French Revolution: A History was written by the Scottish essayist, philosopher, and historian Thomas Carlyle.

The three-volume work, first published in 1837 (with a revised edition in print by 1857), charts the course of the French Revolution from 1789 to the height of the Reign of Terror (1793-4) and culminates in 1795.

A massive undertaking which draws together a wide variety of sources, Carlyle's history -- despite the unusual style in which it is written -- is considered to be an authoritative account of the early course of the Revolution.

Carlyle happened upon the idea of writing a general history of the French Revolution when John Stuart Mill, a friend of his, found himself caught up in other projects and unable to meet the terms of a contract he had signed with his publisher for just such a work. Mill therefore proposed that Carlyle produce the work instead; Mill even sent his friend a library of books and other materials concerning the Revolution, and by 1834 Carlyle was working furiously on the project. When he had at last completed his epic account, Carlyle sent his only completed manuscript of the book to Mill, whose maid famously mistook it for trash and had it burned. It was said that Carlyle then rewrote the entire manuscript from memory, achieving what he described as a book that came "direct and flamingly from the heart."

The book immediately established Carlyle's reputation as an important 19th century intellectual. It also served as a major influence on a number of his contemporaries, most notably, perhaps, upon Charles Dickens, who compulsively read and re-read the book while producing A Tale of Two Cities, one of the novelist's most popular works.

(From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881) was a Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. Coming from a strictly Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected by his parents to become a preacher. However, while at the University of Edinburgh, he lost his Christian faith; nevertheless, Calvinist values remained with him throughout his life.

This combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in traditional Christianity made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order.

Works

    * (1829) Signs of the Times The Victorian Web
    * (1831) Sartor Resartus 
    * (1837) The French Revolution: A History 
    * (1841) On Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History 
    * (1843) Past and Present 
    * (1845) Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches, with elucidations, ed. Thomas Carlyle, 3 vol. (1845, often reprinted). 
          o Morrill, John. "Textualizing and Contextualizing Cromwell." Historical Journal 1990 33(3): 629-639. ISSN 0018-246X Fulltext online at Jstor. Examines the Abbott and Carlyle edit
    * (1849) An Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question 
    * (1850) Latter-Day Pamphlets 
    * (1851) The Life Of John Sterling
    * (1858) History of Friedrich II of Prussia

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