

The Glory and the Sorrow
A Parisian and His World in the Age of the French Revolution
Author: Timothy Tackett
Narrator: Derek Perkins
Unabridged: 5 hr 52 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 09/13/2022
Categories: Nonfiction, History, European History
Synopsis
Based on over a thousand letters written by Colson, this book vividly narrates everyday life for an "ordinary citizen" during extraordinary times, as well as the life of a neighborhood on a small street in central Paris. It explores the real, day-to-day experience of a revolution: not only the thrill, the joy, and the enthusiasm, but also the uncertainty, the confusion, the anxiety, and the disappointments. While Colson reported on major events such as the storming of the Bastille and the King's flight to Varennes, his correspondence underscores the extent to which the great majority of Parisians in no way anticipated the Revolution; the incessant circulation and power of rumors of impending disasters in Paris, not just in the summer of 1789 but continually throughout the Revolutionary decade; and how this affected popular psychology and behavior.
An evocative account of Colson's time and place, The Glory and the Sorrow is a compelling microhistory of Revolutionary France.