This book provides a critical examination of over 300 historical works about the French Revolution, published in Europe (in particular in France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Russia) as well as in the United States between 1789 and 1989. It also goes on to examine recent trends in French Revolution historiography and consider where histories of this landmark event may go in the future. By emphasizing the elements which have been valued or hidden, exalted or silenced, Historicizing the French Revolution shows how reflections on 1789 are always fundamentally tied to the times in which they are formulated. Antonino De Francesco looks at the ways in which these historical accounts can be seen to support and, at times, contrast with the formation of political modernity – both in national and international contexts – as it has taken shape in the hundreds of years that have followed this key moment in world history.

The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia marked the emergence of the nation-state as the dominant political entity in Europe. This book traces the development of the nation-state from its infancy as a virtual dynastic possession, through its incarnation as the embodiment of the sovereign popular will. Three sections chronicle the critical epochs of this transformation, beginning with the belief in the "divine right" of monarchical rule and ending with the concept that the people, not their leaders, are the heart of a nation--an enduring political ideal that remains the basis of the modern nation-state.