pt. 1. Introduction. Robespierre : after two hundred years / William Doyle and Colin Haydon -- The Robespierre problem / David P. Jordan -- pt. 2. Robespierre's outlook. Robespierre's political principles / Marisa Linton -- Robespierre and revolutionary heroism / A. Jourdan -- Robespierre and conspiracy theories / Geoffrey Cubitt -- Robespierre and religion / Frank Tallett -- pt. 3. Robespierrre's politics. Robespierre and the press / Hugh Gough -- Robespierre, the war and its organisation / Alan Forrest -- Robespierre and the insurrection of 31 May-2 June 1793 / Morris Slavin --Robespierre and the terror / Norman Hampson -- pt. 4. Robespierre in retrospect. Carlyle's seagreen Robespierre and the perilous delights of picturesque history / Mark Cumming -- Robespierre through the Chartist looking-glass / Gwynne Lewis -- Rehabilitating Robespierre : Albert Mathiez and Georges Lefebvre as defenders of the Incorruptible / James Friguglietti -- Robespierre in French fiction / Malcolm Cook -- The representation of Robespierre in European drama / William D. Howarth -- pt. 5. Conclusion. French historians and Robespierre / François Crouzet.
Summary
Two centuries after the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre is still regarded as its towering figure. Perceived by some as the champion, indeed the incarnation, of the Revolution's purest and noblest ideals, among others he will always be remembered as the reasoned advocate of the Terror, the defender of mass killing during the Revolution's darkest and most tragic phase. This volume comprises essays by an array of international scholars and examines Robespierre's life and work from three main perspectives: his ideology and vision of the Revolution, his role in the period's tumultous politics, culminating in his year on the Committee of Public Safety in 1793-94, and nineteenth- and twentieth-century representations of the Incorruptible - by historians, dramatists and writers of fiction. This book illuminates many facets of Robespierre's career, thought and reputation, and provides a balanced and up-to-date appraisal of one of the great figures of European history.
