Simon Schama Books
Simon Schama is a British historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his works on art history, Dutch history, and the French Revolution. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University and has authored several acclaimed books, including 'The Embarrassment of Riches' and 'Landscape and Memory'.
Known for: Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
Books by Simon Schama
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
A sweeping narrative history of the French Revolution, Simon Schama’s 'Citizens' explores the social, political, and cultural forces that led to the fall of the ancien régime and the rise of revolutionary France. Blending vivid storytelling with deep historical insight, Schama portrays the Revolution as both a triumph of human aspiration and a tragedy of violence and excess.
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The Old Regime
Before the fall, there was magnificence, and beneath it, decay. The 18th-century French monarchy was an empire of spectacle—a place where privilege was not merely social but theatrical. Nobles defined honor through lineage and visibility, through duels and public ritual; kings ruled by radiance from...
From Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
The Culture of Honor and Violence
Violence did not arrive in 1789 as an intruder; it was already present in the fabric of French life. Duels, public punishments, and ritualized confrontations between citizens and authority expressed a national obsession with honor. This culture taught that to be French was to be seen, to defend one’...
From Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
About Simon Schama
Simon Schama is a British historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his works on art history, Dutch history, and the French Revolution. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University and has authored several acclaimed books, including 'The Embarrassment of Riches' and 'Landsc...
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Simon Schama is a British historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his works on art history, Dutch history, and the French Revolution. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University and has authored several acclaimed books, including 'The Embarrassment of Riches' and 'Landsc...
Simon Schama is a British historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his works on art history, Dutch history, and the French Revolution. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University and has authored several acclaimed books, including 'The Embarrassment of Riches' and 'Landscape and Memory'.
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Simon Schama is a British historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his works on art history, Dutch history, and the French Revolution. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia University and has authored several acclaimed books, including 'The Embarrassment of Riches' and 'Landscape and Memory'.
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