Sofa Spotlight - The French Revolution and what went Wrong, Stephen Clarke

My first experience of Stephen Clarke was when I read 1000 Years of Annoying the French. I loved it and it ranks as one of my favourite books of all time. So of course when I heard that this book was coming out I pre ordered it straight away! No hanging about for me.

The French Revolution has been one of those things that I’ve always wondered about. I first encountered it when I read A Tale of Two Cities, and as how and why the revolution was happening wasn’t all that relevant to the story I finished the book none the wiser as to how France had found itself in that position. It was always something I meant to research but never got around to. So when I saw this I was very excited. And the great thing about Stephen Clarke is the humour. His way of writing history is anything but dry. Hence why I love 1000 Years of Annoying the French.

There’s so much I could say about this book because I learnt so much from it. In fact I was annoying my colleagues at work by telling them each day what I had learnt the night before! But I think what shocked or surprised me the most was how much misinformation I had picked up over time.

I had no idea what Louis XVI was like but I figured that if the French people hated him so much as to guillotine him then he must have been bad. I had also wondered why if things were so bad he hadn’t fled the country! So having all this stuff explained to me was very illuminating.

The other surprise was how relevant the events of the French Revolution are today. Clarke talks a lot about the fake news that was being circulated at the time, which was something I had rather naively thought was a modern thing brought about because of the rise of technology and social media. But on further thought it made sense - propaganda has always been a big thing and I don’t think there can have been many if any periods of history where it’s been easy to get to the heart of the truth.

And I think that’s rather sad and worrying. What I also find worrying is how quickly we forget the things of the past. History can come across as boring and there are historians who have written it in a dull way so I can understand why it’s not always appealing. But if we forget what’s gone before how can we avoid making the same mistakes again?

All that to say I think you should read this book. Clarke’s writing style is hilarious and you never feel like you’ve just read a giant of a book when you’re finished (this book is not short). So yes it comes highly recommended as does 1000 Years of Annoying the French. Because they both make understanding history actually possible!