The French Revolution and the Reign of Napoleon: A Brief Guide for Young and Old

Originally published in 1904 as a portion of the author’s larger “History of the World,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 24 pages, recounts, in simple language, the history of the French Revolution and the reign of Napoleon.

Sample passage:
The news of the king’s death roused all the countries of Europe against France. No less than ten nations leagued against that one country, and from England to Russia more than a quarter of a million of men marched upon it. To add to its troubles a rebellion broke out at home, for the people of the Vendée, a land of royalists in the west, rose against the revolutionists.

This vast threat from outside only added to the mad violence within. The terrible Reign of Terror now began. Throughout the country patriots flocked to the ranks, an army of three hundred thousand men was raised, and the invaders of France were met by valiant patriots. In the convention there were now two parties, the Girondists or Moderates, and the Mountain or Extremists. In the fierce struggle between these factions the Mountain—supported by the lowest element of Paris—succeeded, and the Girondists were seized and sent to the guillotine. The Extremists were now in control, with Robespierre, Marat, and Danton at their head.

We shall not tell in detail the horrors that followed. Every day hundreds of victims were sent to the guillotine. Their places in the prisons were quickly filled by hundreds of others, arrested on the slightest charges. The trials were mere farces. To be brought before the terrible tribunal meant to be condemned to death. Few of any importance escaped the sweeping dragnet of the Revolution. The carnival of death spread through all France, and it is said that the total number guillotined was more than eighteen thousand.

About the author:
Charles Morris (1833-1922) was the author of numerous books for young and old, including “The Lives of the Presidents and How They Reached the White House,” “Tales from the Dramatists,” and “Primary History of the United States.”