The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris | National Humanities Center

Work of the Fellows: Monographs

The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris

By Colin Jones (NHC Fellow, 2014–15)

French History; French Revolution; Reign of Terror; Political History; Maximilien Robespierre; Paris, France

New York: Oxford University Press, 2021

From the publisher’s description:

The day of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794) is universally acknowledged as a major turning-point in the history of the French Revolution. At 12.00 midnight, Maximilien Robespierre, the most prominent member of the Committee of Public Safety which had for more than a year directed the Reign of Terror, was planning to destroy one of the most dangerous plots that the Revolution had faced. By 12.00 midnight at the close of the day, following a day of uncertainty, surprises, upsets and reverses, his world had been turned upside down. He was an outlaw, on the run, and himself wanted for conspiracy against the Republic. He felt that his whole life and his Revolutionary career were drawing to an end. As indeed they were. He shot himself shortly afterwards. Half-dead, the guillotine finished him off in grisly fashion the next day. The Fall of Robespierre provides an hour-by-hour analysis of these 24 hours.

Awards and Prizes
Franco-British Society Book Prize (2021)
Subjects
History / French History / French Revolution / Reign of Terror / Political History / Maximilien Robespierre / Paris, France /

Jones, Colin (NHC Fellow, 2014–15). The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.