Overview

Robespierre and the Festival of the Supreme Being provides an exciting new study of an important event in the French Revolution and a defining moment in the career of its principal actor, Maximilien Robespierre, the Festival of the Supreme Being. This day of national celebration was held to inaugurate the new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, and whilst traditionally it has been dismissed as a compulsory political event, this book redefines its importance as a hugely popular national event. Hitherto unused or disregarded source material is used to offer new perspective to the national reaction to Robespierre's creation of the Festival and of his search for a new republican morality. It is the first ever detailed study in English of this area of French Revolutionary history, the first in any language since 1988 and will be welcomed by scholars and students of this period. -- .

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9781526103796

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Reviews

'What all this amounts to is an important, deeply researched and thought-provoking book, which shows that the Festival of the Supreme Being needs to be taken seriously.' Mike Rapport, French History, Volume 31, Issue 3 'It takes courage to re-open the debate on the Supreme Being and show that, despite all its detractors, its Festival was not a mummery, but a joyous demonstration of unity throughout the whole of France. Jonathan Smyth was brave enough to do this, and we are grateful to him for it.' Sophie Wahnich, Historian of the French Revolution. Director of Research, CNRS, Institut Interdisciplinaire du Contemporain.psl, Paris 'This book transforms our understanding of one of the most important cultural events of the French Revolution. Smyth shows us that the Festival was a major cultural event, one in which many people actively participated, both in Paris and the provinces, and which signified the hopes of many for the future of the Revolution.' Marisa Linton, Associate Professor in History at Kingston University -- .

'What all this amounts to is an important, deeply researched and thought-provoking book, which shows that the Festival of the Supreme Being needs to be taken seriously.' Mike Rapport, French History, Volume 31, Issue 3 ‘It takes courage to re-open the debate on the Supreme Being and show that, despite all its detractors, its Festival was not a mummery, but a joyous demonstration of unity throughout the whole of France. Jonathan Smyth was brave enough to do this, and we are grateful to him for it.’ Sophie Wahnich, Historian of the French Revolution. Director of Research, CNRS, Institut Interdisciplinaire du Contemporain.psl, Paris ‘This book transforms our understanding of one of the most important cultural events of the French Revolution. Smyth shows us that the Festival was a major cultural event, one in which many people actively participated, both in Paris and the provinces, and which signified the hopes of many for the future of the Revolution.’ Marisa Linton, Associate Professor in History at Kingston University '...minor shortcomings are outweighed by the undeniable contribution the work makes to our knowledge of the revolutionary festivals and, more generally, to the religious history of the period. The harvest the author has brought back from the archives, both national and local, indicates that the subject is still far from exhausted.' Paul Chopelin, Chrétiens et Sociétés -- .

'What all this amounts to is an important, deeply researched and thought-provoking book, which shows that the Festival of the Supreme Being needs to be taken seriously.' Mike Rapport, French History, Volume 31, Issue 3 -- .

Author Information

Jonathan Smyth is Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London

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