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Reaktion Books Hardback English
Desk Revolutionaries
The Men of the French Directory, 1795–9
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The French Directory is often dismissed as an uninspiring interlude between revolutionary fervour and Napoleonic legend, yet its story is far richer than its reputation suggests. This book shifts the focus from the regime to the remarkable men who shaped it – a cohort of jurists, engineers and administrators who survived the Reign of Terror and set out to safeguard the Revolution’s most important achievements. Working not on battlefields but in offices and council chambers, they built durable laws and institutions that still underpin modern France. The first English-language study on the topic in fifty years, Desk Revolutionaries offers an engaging, character-driven narrative that also sheds light on the enduring power of technical experts in government, inviting reflection on how democracies are made – and maintained.
The French Directory is often dismissed as an uninspiring interlude between revolutionary fervour and Napoleonic legend, yet its story is far richer than its reputation suggests. This book shifts the focus from the regime to the remarkable men who shaped it – a cohort of jurists, engineers and administrators who survived the Reign of Terror and set out to safeguard the Revolution’s most important achievements. Working not on battlefields but in offices and council chambers, they built durable laws and institutions that still underpin modern France. The first English-language study on the topic in fifty years, Desk Revolutionaries offers an engaging, character-driven narrative that also sheds light on the enduring power of technical experts in government, inviting reflection on how democracies are made – and maintained.