Citizens

A Chronicle of the French Revolution

By: Simon Schama

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

From one of the truly preeminent historians of our time, this is a landmark book chronicling the French Revolution. Simon Schama deftly refutes the contemporary notion that the French Revolution represented an uprising of the oppressed poor against a decadent aristocracy and corrupt court. He argues instead that the revolution was born of a rift among the elite over the speed of progress toward modernity and science, social and economic change. Schama’s approach, weaving in and out of private and public lives in the fashion of a novel, brings us closer than we have ever been to the harrowing and seductive French Revolution.

Simon Schama is a professor of art history and history at Columbia University and is the author of numerous award-winning books; his history Rough Crossings won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction. He has written and presented more than thirty documentaries for the BBC, PBS, and the History Channel.

©1989 Simon Schama (P)1990 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Lively descriptions of major events, colorful cameos of leading characters (and obscure ones too), bring them to life here as no other general work has done…Above all, Mr. Schama tells a story, and he tells it well…A delight to read.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“An immensely readable work of distinguished scholarship that guillotined many of the romantic myths about the beginning of French democracy.” ( Time)

A Must Listen!!

A fascinating and timely listen! Articulate and witty. No one and no thing relevant to the French Revolution is spared Simon Schama's withering perspicacity. Not to be missed!!

Great audiobook!! What's the problem?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book in a heartbeat! Other reviewers say they had audio problems with this book -- I didn't hear any problems at all. Audible must have fixed whatever this was. A great long listen!

What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A good command of French -- thank God! Many other audible product producers (Charles River Editors, are you reading this?) who discuss the French Revolution often mispronounce many of the French names. Not Davidson. He is a total articulate pro!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A deep broad dive into the French Revolution!

Any additional comments?

If you really want to get into the French Revolution, this is the book for you!!

Fix the audio already!

The skipping ruins what is an otherwise excellent version of the history of the French Revolution

Citizens for a better France.

I have always been curious about the French Revolution causes and ultimate impact. The Book by Simon Schama is an inclusive account of the reasons, steps and full accounting of this violent and brutal event.

Having visited the Chateau Region, one can imagine the void between the rich and the poor. But a description I had heard about the revolution, that it had eaten its own children, was confirmed by the narrative.

As with all history, it has poignant information, shared with the sharpness of a guillotine. Simon Schama is a masterful story teller! I recommend all of his work.

Had the physical.... had to take a listen....

I had the physical book for the pics and enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook.... save your eyes, use your ears....

wonderful book, problem performance

This is a great book, wonderfully written, lively and intelligent. My review however is a plea to Frederick Davidson. Obviously Audible loves him, so I hope this can reach him somehow. This reader would make the Sermon on the Mountain sound like a sneering, scoffing insult. "And blessed be the humble and the meek... yeah, right..." A reader should be a transparent vessel for the book, not an interpreter, and a misplaced interpreter at that. And what about the falsetto voice whenever a woman speaks? What's the matter with men who read women in falsetto? Women are people too! Please stop that, it's offensive and makes them all sound like caricatures! There is no reason on earth to single women out that way -- for the listener is perfectly capable to understand when it's the narrator who speaks and when it's the character. Since there is no significant change of tone and voice when a male character speaks, then I see no need to make a special case for women.
These mannerisms -- the voice dripping with misplaced sarcasm, and the falsetto -- badly mar this book. I know at least one person who had to return it because of that. Couldn't stand to listen to it.
And incidentally, yes, the recording still skips. I am now right in the middle of the book, and the skipping occurred mostly in the first one third. It hasn't skipped for the last three hours or so. But when it does, it's extremely disruptive and crucial information is lost.

a bit arch

Reader a bit arch, better to interpret his mannerisms as camp. otherwise, argument by vinnette.

Worth every minute

A superb history. One wishes for the time and resources to follow almost every character into his/her biography. Does the appalling violence on display still lurk in the bosom of France?
Davidson’s arch and detached style suits the material perfectly. It wouldn’t do to have the narrator break into fits of derisory laughter at the pomposity of so many self-serving “idealists”, nor to succumb to sobs as the unimaginable cruelties unfold.

Well done

While it is true that there are some technical problems with the recording, the benefit of this historical narrative is well worth the minor frustrations in said recording. There are many reasons one should choose this work for their time but one in particular is the comprehensive nature of the work. It allows us to see both the good and the bad and I believe that the author did an excellent job in maintaining a family neutral position and give oboe facts and not conclusions. This title is well worth the listen or read for any person who want to have a more comprehensive grasp of history.

Why is the skipping not fixed after five years?

Though I don't think it's a great book, I do believe this is the best available history of the French Revolution on Audible. Otherwise, I would have returned it because it is defective.

My question is for Audible: Why has this audiobook been allowed to remain on sale for five years when it is obviously defective? Why has it not been fixed? I thought Amazon was all about the customer? I used a credit on this and it doesn't sit well with me...