Citizens

Why it’s on the list: Schama’s bicentenary chronicle, written against the Marxist reading: the Revolution not as a rising bourgeoisie but as a reforming, modernising old regime that talked itself into violence, with the Terror present from the beginning rather than arriving as a deviation.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “Citizens — Simon Schama (on the French Revolution)”.

Connections

• Napoleon — what the Revolution produced.
• Power — Schama’s argument is about how violence became the Revolution’s method rather than its accident.
• Napoleon’s Master — Talleyrand’s route through the same years, named in the same thread.
• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.