Book Report : “Reflections on the Revolution in France” By Edmund Burke

Type :

Book review

Pages :

3 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

05/17/2007

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

Introduction: Oxford World's Classics edition
Summary
The paragraphs on the abstract rights of man
The last hundred pages of the novel
Burke's criticism of the French Revolution
The characteristic passion of Burke's work
Conclusion

Abstract

When the writer and politician edmund burke published his reflections on the revolution in france in 1790, Britain was particularly focused on what had just happened on the other side of the Channel. At a time when radical societies were emerging in Britain and dissenters were about to claim new rights, france had just turned a page in history with the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the abolition of the French Monarchy. As we know, the news of the French revolution was at first received with enthusiasm in certain circles (and this might explain why burke's work was at first so criticized) before British public opinion changed dramatically, after the Terror began in 1792. In this second moment of post-revolutionary history, the ideas expressed by burke in his reflections came to embody the essence of British Political Culture. Written in the form of a letter ( burke was answering a French family friend who had asked for his opinion on the recent events in france), reflections on the revolution in france does not follow a specific outline and is not divided in chapters, which in fact contributes to the impressionistic and perhaps even visionary dimension of the work.