The French Revolution. Volumes I, II & III.

Measurements are for one volume. Full maroon calf with gilt double line edging on the boards. Green title plates, raised banding with gilt lettering and squared decoration on the (faded to tan) spine.

FIRST EDITION comprising a set of three very fine books 'History is the essence of innumerable biographies' was Carlyle's historical creed. The result is not a work of scholarship but a prose epic, teeming with colourful scenes of dramatic events and imaginative portraits of the leading revolutionaries. The book at once captured the English-speaking world, and has, outside France, moulded popular conception of the French revolution down to the present day"

Carlyle arranged his work in three parts, the first subtitled "The Bastille," the second part "The Constitution," and the final part "The Guillotine." Of the three great political upheavals which have altered the face of the world only the French Revolution has stimulated literary masterpieces which, in turn, have made their impact, direct and indirect, upon millions of readers. They are Carlyle's book and the History of the French Revolution by Michelet. Carlyle wrote his French Revolution as a secular 'tract for the times' and as a warning for his compatriots of the frightful consequences of materialism, utilitarianism and democracy. Scottish Puritanism and German romanticism were his lodestars; 'History is the essence of innumerable biographies' was his historical creed. The result is not a work of scholarship but a prose epic, teeming with colourful scenes of dramatic events and imaginative portraits of leading revolutionaries".