*Illustrated
*Includes Table of Contents
*Includes an Introductory Note from Harvard Classics
Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was an influential member of the British Parliament at one of the momentous periods in history. Today, he is mainly remembered for his support of the cause of the American Revolutionaries, and for his later opposition to the French Revolution. The French Revolution led to his becoming the leading figure within the conservative faction of the Whig party, which he dubbed the "Old Whigs", in opposition to the pro–French Revolution "New Whigs", led by Charles James Fox.
One of the most profound and complex events in the history of man is the French Revolution, which has seemed to defy comprehensive analysis. Its complexity was great, its contradictions numerous and astounding. A movement ostensibly directed against despotism culminated in the establishment of a despotism far more complete than that which had been overthrown. The apostles of liberty proscribed whole classes of their fellow citizens, drenching in innocent blood the land which they claimed to deliver from oppression. And the Reign of Terror, ironically, would give way to the rise of Napoleon’s empire before the restoration of the Bourbons.
Burke wrote an account titled Reflections on the Revolution in France that became part of the Harvard Classics series. Written in the years after the French Revolution, Burke criticizes the motives of the Revolutionary leaders and warns that a Revolution can produce just as much bad as good. If anything, the Reign of Terror proved him prophetic.
This edition of Burke’s classic is specially formatted with a Table of Contents and is illustrated with images depicting important people and events.
