The Modern Regime, Volume 1

Hippolyte Taine was a crucial influence on naturalism, but today he is best known for his writings, especially his multi-volume work on the French Revolution as part of his gigantic
The Origins of Contemporary France.
As one of the seminal social revolutions in human history, the French Revolution holds a unique legacy, especially in the West. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. But history remembers the French Revolution in a starkly different way, as the same leaders who sought a more democratic system while out of power devolved into establishing an incredibly repressive tyranny of their own once they acquired it. Ironically, the Reign of Terror ultimately led to the rise of Napoleon’s empire before the restoration of the Bourbons.