Twelve Who Ruled Audiobook By R. R. Palmer, Isser Woloch - foreword cover art

Twelve Who Ruled

The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Twelve Who Ruled

By: R. R. Palmer, Isser Woloch - foreword
Narrated by: David Stifel
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The Reign of Terror continues to fascinate scholars as one of the bloodiest periods in French history, when the Committee of Public Safety strove to defend the first Republic from its many enemies, creating a climate of fear and suspicion in revolutionary France.

R. R. Palmer's fascinating narrative follows the Committee's deputies individually and collectively, recounting and assessing their tumultuous struggles in Paris and their repressive missions in the provinces.

A foreword by Isser Woloch explains why this book remains an enduring classic in French revolutionary studies.

©1941 Princeton University Press; Foreword to the Princeton Classic Edition copyright 2005 by Princeton University Press (P)2020 Tantor
France Historical Revolutions & Wars of Independence French Revolution War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Twelve Who Ruled

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    71
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    64
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome

There’s something amazing about the way a modern conservative can narrate the words of a 1940’s liberal that’s so sarcastic it provides multiple meanings to the words. The content of the book is top notch as well, but it might be better to have a brief review on the chronology of the French Revolution and its main commentators before having a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well researched, thoughtful, evenhanded, honest

Assertions sounded researched and supported by original sources. The author seemed most interested in obtaining and sharing insight, rather than advancing any idea or point of view. I therefore found it an excellent and refreshing read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Warning

It's hard to offer new insight on a book written 80 years ago but I can at least offer some advice to the casual reader: this is not a crash course about the French Revolution or even a holistic book about France during that era. If you were like me and approaching this book years after it was covered in school, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with things like the timeline of the revolution, the beliefs of the Jacobins, Girondins, Sans-Culottes, etc and the political climate of Europe before the Revolution. Also, if you don't speak French, I recommend looking at some of the French names or places on paper because you may have a hard time remembering them otherwise. Personally, this book read as a never ending footnote but one that I learned a lot from nonetheless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful classic book let down by performance

This is a superb account of the Committee of Public Safety--nuanced, detailed, and fair-minded. What is difficult to overlook is that the "performance" (i.e., the narrator) cannot pronounce even common words such as "Vendee" and "Robespierre," let alone "Eglantine" as in Fabre d'Eglantine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful