France

The Glorious First of June

In 1794, at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, 'the nation wanted a victory'. It was provided by Admiral Howe.

The Dreyfus Case, 1894 -1906

John Roberts sees the Dreyfus Affair not only as the representative of the sordid politics of the Third Republic, but as a belated effect of the French Revolution.

The Tragedy of Marshal Ney

Harold Kurtz describes how, ordered by Louis XVIII to arrest Napoleon on his return from Elba in 1815, Marshal Ney went over to his former master.

Madame de Pompadour's Staircase

Nancy Mitford describes how Louis XV never talked politics out of the Council Chamber. Hunting was his only distraction until Madame de Pompadour introduced him to “plans and designs ... bibelots and stuffs ... gaiety and lightness.”

The Rhineland Republic: Part II

Julian Piggott, former British Commissioner in Cologne, tells the story, as he witnessed it, of the French attempt in 1923 to create a buffer state on their eastern frontier. The first part of this articles can be found here.

Madame Jullien and the Jacobins

J.M. Thompson reveals a remarkable set of late 18th century letters, penned by an enthusiastic female supporter of the French Revolution.