Selected Bibliography for Historical and Political Memoirs of the Reign of Louis XVI
from his Marriage until his Death
Marie Antoinette and the Role of Women
Abray, Jane. “Feminism in the French Revolution.” American Historical Review 80, no.
1(1975): 43.
The author speaks more from a feminist perspective with regards to women and
their new roles. They could now hold some public jobs that were previously
unavailable; they used some male connections to help push through particular
legislation. And they even had better education opportunities; however, these few
gains were relatively short lived. RR
Andress, David. “The Shifting Landscape of Revolutionary Interpretations: A
Death of the Past and a Rebirth of History?” French Historical Studies 32, no. 4
(Fall 2009): 647-653.
Barker, Nancy N. “’Let Them Eat Cake’: The Mythical Marie Antoinette and the French
Revolution.” Historian 55, no. 4 (1993).
A historical interpretation of the infamous “let them eat cake” quote from French
queen Marie Antoinette, and analysis of the monarch’s exaggerated history. Baker
seeks to chronicle the transformation of Antoinette from the king’s wife into the
nation’s monstrosity, through the influence of the French revolutionary peoples
and press. CF
Becker, Carl. “A Letter from Danton to Marie Antoinette.” The American Historical
Review 27, no. 1 (Oct. 1921): 24-46.
Bernier, Olivier. The Eighteenth-Century Woman. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 1981.
Castelluccio, Stéphane. “The Two Apartments of Madame Du Barry at the Chateau de
Marly.” Studies In The Decorative Arts 2, no. 2 (1995): 77-91.
Colwill, Elizabeth. “Just Another ‘Citoyenne?’ Marie-Antoinette on Trial, 1790-1793.”
History Workshop, no. 28. (1989): 63-87.
Godineau, Dominique. The Women of Paris and Their French Revolution. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1998.
In this book, Dominique Godineau examines the female revolutionaries of the
French Revolution. During the French Revolution, hundreds of domestic and
working-class women of Paris were interrogated, examined, accused, denounced,
arrested, and imprisoned for their revolutionary behavior. The book does not
examine singular female heroines, but rather, the collective common women. RM
Graham, Ruth, Renate Bridenthal, and Claudia Koonz. “Loaves and Liberty:
Women in the French Revolution.” In Becoming Visible: Women in European
History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1977): 236-254.
An analysis of the growing political participation of women during the French
Revolution, and the early roles adopted by female revolutionaries. Graham
interprets the early growth of feminism and female independence amidst rampant
inequality during the late 1700s, and the overall impact of female involvement in
the revolution for French history. CF
Heuer, Jennifer. “Hats on for the Nation! Women, Servants, Soldiers and the ‘Sign of the
French’.” French History 16, no. 1 (2008): 28-52.
Landes, Joan. Women and the Public Sphere in the Age of the French Revolution.
Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1988.
In this book, Joan Landes studies the impact on women of the emergence of a
new, bourgeoisie organization of public life in the eighteenth-century. The focus
is primarily on France where Landes compares and contrasts the roles and
representations of these women during the Old Regime, during the French
Revolution, and after the French Revolution. RM and RR
Lever, Evelyne. Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France. New York: Farrar, Straus
and Giroux, 2000.
Lotz, Nancy. Marie Antoinette and the Decline of French Monarchy. Greensboro:
Morgan Reynolds Incorporated, 2004.
In this book, Nancy Lotz examines the life of Marie Antoinette. The daughter of
the formidable Empress Maria Theresa of Austria showed no interest in politics
and did not like school. Yet, at the age of fourteen she was set to marry King
Louis XVI of France. The queen’s spending habits and foreign birth caused the
people to turn on her. RM
Melzer, Sara and Leslie Rabine, editors. Rebel Daughters: Women and the French
Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
This book helps to again reiterate the place women held. It speaks of just who
should or could be considered a citizen during and after the Revolution. Visions
of the new republic and who was a part of this vision were also a major theme
throughout, which encompassed women as well as servants and soldiers. RR
Rose, R. B. “Symbols, Citizens, or Sisterhood: Women and the Popular Movement in the
French Revolution: The Beginning of a Tradition.” Australian Journal of Politics
& History 40, no. 3 (1994): 303-317.
Politics and Public Opinion
Barker, Nancy N., and James Friguglietti. “Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette:
Revolutionary Personalities?” Proceedings of the Western Society for French
History 19, (1992): 119-127.
An analysis of the lasting impact of the personalities within the French Monarchy
during the era of revolution. Barker and Friguglietti seek to interpret the historical
context of French public opinion of the king and queen, and the historical weight
of their image. CF
Conner, Susan P. “Prostitution and the Jacobin Agenda for Social Control.” EighteenthCentury Life 12, no. 1(1988): 42-51.
Graham, Lisa. If the King Only Knew. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia,
2000.
In this book, Lisa Jane Graham looks at police files from the eighteenth-century
and uncovers fascinating clues to conflicting attitudes of the French subjects
toward royal authority. Many subjects at the time did not recognize that their
tongues could get them into serious trouble. The crown did not accept a wide
range of political speech and often times turned such speech into crimes. RM
Gruder, Vivian R. “The Question of Marie‐Antoinette: The Queen and Public Opinion
before the Revolution.” French History 16, no. 3 (2002): 269-298.
A historical dissection of Marie Antoinette as queen before and during the French
Revolution, and the infamy surrounding her legacy. Gruder seeks to quell
exaggerations of the queen’s role in the formation of the French Revolution,
through analysis of French public opinion based upon the scandal of the queen’s
royal life. CF
Kennedy, Michael L. “The Foundation of the Jacobin Clubs and the Development of the
Jacobin Club Network, 1789-1791.” Journal Of Modern History 51, no. 4(1979):
701-733.
The Life of Louis XV
Kiernan, Linda. “Louisa O’Murphy: Louis XV’s Irish Mistress.” History Ireland 14, no.
1 (2006): 20-25.
Merrick, Jeffrey. “Louis XV’s Deathbed Apology.” European History Quarterly 38, no.
2(2008): 205-226.
Merrick’s article was about the King’s death bed confession or apology. He
highlighted the fact that many different versions arose, and no one is completely
certain of what was actually said. Depending on a person’s political views and
their position, they may have favored one version over the other. RR
Rogister, John. Louis XV and the Parlement of Paris, 1737-1755. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Swann, Julian. Politics and the Parlement of Paris Under Louis XV, 1754-1774.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
In this book, Julian Swann examines the relationship between the king and the
Parlement of Paris before the revolution of 1789. Both sides often disagreed and
after 1750, Louis XV’s religious, financial, and administrative policies caused
major controversy. In 1771 the Parlement was abolished, and the book examines
what contemporaries called “the Revolution of 1771.” RM
The Fall of the French Monarchy
Best, Geoffrey. The Permanent Revolution: The French Revolution and its Legacy, 17891989. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Hardman, John. Louis XVI. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
Jordan, David P. The King's Trial: The French Revolution vs. Louis XVI. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1979.
A historical reflection upon the events of and leading to the public execution of
King Louis XVI of France, detailing the ideologies surrounding the movement to
regicide. Jordan attempts to realistically portray the people and issues surrounding
the execution, as well as convey and understanding of the king’s struggle during
such a chaotic era. CF
Kwass, Michael A., and Gail Bossenga. “The Politics of the Taxation and the Origins of
the French Revolution.” Consortium On Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850:
Proceedings 23 (1994): 394-400.
The authors of this particular selection trace the policies and the philosophies that
led from King Louis XIV all the way through Louis XVI. Many of these thoughts
and ideologies were thought to have caused or propelled the Revolution. The
authors even through into consideration the issues of power and taxation. RR
Tackett, Timothy. When the King Took Flight. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
2003.
Vovelle, Michel. The Fall of the French Monarchy, 1787-1792. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1984.
Walzer, Michael. Regicide and Revolution; Speeches at the Trial of Louis XVI. London,
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1974.
Ryan McGoron, Michael Louis, Rachel Rode, and Conor Fitzpatrick prepared this
bibliography.