France in the Nineteenth Century

In Short

This volume acts as a panoramic chronicle of French political upheaval during the nineteenth century. It traces the nation’s tumultuous transition from the restoration of the Bourbons through the reign of the "Citizen-King" Louis Philippe, the rise and fall of the Second Empire under Napoleon III, and the eventual stabilization of the Third Republic. Drawing upon memoirs, contemporary journalism, and private papers, the narrative weaves together the fates of kings and commoners alike. It has lasted because it provides an immediate, eyewitness sense of the chaos—the barricades, the coups d'état, and the sieges—that defined a period where France seemed to reinvent its government every decade, offering a vivid, ground-level perspective on the high-stakes drama of European power.

The Story

The narrative begins with the twilight of the Bourbon monarchy. Charles X, a figure of rigid traditionalism, loses his grip on the throne during the "Days of July" in 1830. The populace, unwilling to return to the old absolutism, shifts its support to Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, who is crowned as a "Citizen-King." His reign is marked by a frantic struggle to maintain order against a backdrop of public unrest, assassination attempts, and the persistent, haunting memory of the first Napoleon’s glory.

As the 1840s conclude, the fragile peace of the July Monarchy collapses under the pressure of social discontent and economic crisis. The Revolution of 1848 erupts, and with it, the Second Republic is born. Alphonse de Lamartine emerges as a central figure, working desperately to manage the competing demands of an impoverished working class and a fearful bourgeoisie. Yet, this republic is short-lived, eclipsed by the calculated ambition of Louis Napoleon, the nephew of the great Emperor. Through a meticulously executed coup d’état, he dismantles the republic, eventually declaring himself Napoleon III.

Under the Second Empire, France experiences a period of gilded prosperity and imperial adventure. The Emperor marries Eugénie de Montijo, and the court becomes a center of global influence. However, this period is also defined by the tragic intervention in Mexico, where the Archduke Maximilian of Austria—who had been installed as Emperor of Mexico with French backing—finds himself abandoned to a firing squad. This hubris foreshadows the eventual collapse of the Empire. In 1870, the tension between a resurgent France and an ascending Prussia boils over into war. The defeat at Sedan is catastrophic, leading to the capture of Napoleon III and the dissolution of his regime.

The vacuum left by the Empire is filled by the desperate, starving reality of the Siege of Paris, followed by the terrifying internal conflict of the Commune. Paris tears itself apart as the radical, desperate Communards clash with the conservative government retreating to Versailles. The city descends into a nightmare of fire, hostage executions, and brutal reprisals. From these ashes, the Third Republic begins to coalesce. The narrative follows its path through the presidencies of Adolphe Thiers, Jules Grévy, and Sadi-Carnot, concluding as the nation grapples with the populist shadow of General Boulanger. By the end, the book presents a France exhausted by its own cyclical revolutions, yet searching for a permanent, republican identity.

How It Unfolds

The Bourbon collapse The narrative opens with the abdication of Charles X, whose rigid refusal to adapt to constitutional demands triggers the 1830 revolution. As the royal family flees into exile, the book establishes the central tension of the century: the friction between the desire for traditional authority and the rising demands of a vocal, armed citizenry.

The Citizen-King’s ordeal The story shifts to the reign of Louis Philippe, detailing the persistent attempts on his life, including the infamous “infernal machine” of Fieschi. These chapters emphasize the precariousness of a monarch who attempted to govern as a private citizen while surrounded by a restless, revolutionary public.

The Napoleonic revival The focus turns to Louis Napoleon’s early conspiratorial life in London and Switzerland, tracing his transformation from an exile into the President and then Emperor. The text illustrates how he leveraged the national nostalgia for his uncle’s military glory to dismantle the Second Republic.

The imperial zenith and ruin The narrative moves to the height of the Second Empire, marked by the wedding of Napoleon III and Eugénie and the tragic, doomed adventure of Maximilian in Mexico. It then pivots sharply to the disastrous Franco-Prussian War, capturing the humiliation of Sedan and the fall of the imperial house.

The siege and the Commune The book vividly recounts the starvation and desperation of the siege of Paris, followed by the violent, fratricidal struggle of the Commune. It offers a grim portrait of a city where the order of society disintegrated into street-level carnage and the execution of hostages.

The Third Republic’s infancy The final movement follows the stabilization efforts of early presidents like Thiers and Grévy, who navigate the wreckage of the war. It concludes with the rise of General Boulanger, a figure whose immense, vague popularity threatens to plunge the young Republic back into the cycle of dictatorship.

The People

The figures in this history are often defined by their inability to reconcile their personal ideals with the relentless pace of French political change. Charles X stands as a tragic monument to the past, clinging to divine right until his displacement forces him into an aimless exile. Louis Philippe plays the role of the pragmatic, if ultimately doomed, moderate, attempting to balance the throne with the temperament of a citizen-king, only to be swept away when his caution fails to satisfy the extremists on either side.

Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) appears as a master of political theater. He is driven by a deep conviction that his name alone grants him the right to rule, yet he fails to provide the true military triumph the French people associate with his lineage. His empress, Eugénie, is portrayed as an energetic and influential force, deeply invested in the survival of the dynasty, often acting as a bridge between the court’s opulence and the cabinet’s strategic failures.

Alphonse de Lamartine embodies the idealism of the early Republic, a man of words and oratory who desperately tries to keep the nation from descending into anarchy through moral persuasion. In contrast, Adolphe Thiers represents the cold, calculating survival instinct of the new Republic, tasked with the grim duty of restoring order after the Commune. General Boulanger serves as the final, enigmatic figure of the century, a "man on horseback" whose fame relies on song and spectacle, acting as a mirror for the nation’s lingering desire for a strongman. Each figure, whether they succeed or fail, is eventually consumed by the unrelenting nature of the French political process, leaving them to vanish into the pages of history they once struggled to command.

In Its Own Voice

The author describes the intense, almost frantic efforts of the provisional government to stabilize the nation after the 1848 revolution:

The seventy hours at the Hôtel-de-Ville to which Mrs. Oliphant alludes were passed by Lamartine in making orations, in sending off proclamations to the departments, in endeavoring to calm the excited multitude and to secure the triumph of the Republic without the effusion of blood.

The author quotes a contemporary observer describing the desperate, apocalyptic atmosphere within the city clubs during the siege of Paris:

It was a sulphurous place, a Pandemonium, a Zoological Garden, a Pantomime, a Comedy, a Backwoods Fourth of July, and a Donnybrook Fair, all combined.

The author reflects on the character of the Archduke Maximilian, emphasizing the personal magnetism that made his execution in Mexico feel like a profound loss:

His noble nature shone in every line. They give the key to the irresistible personal sympathy he inspired in all who knew him.

What It's Really About

At its core, this book examines the immense difficulty of establishing a stable government in a society traumatized by its own revolutionary legacy. The central question is how France can reconcile its yearning for the prestige of the past—specifically the Napoleonic era—with the democratic necessity of the future. The author suggests that the nation was trapped in a perpetual cycle where the bourgeoisie and the working classes held vastly different, often irreconcilable, views of what liberty and order should entail. The political instability described is not merely a string of accidents, but a fundamental identity crisis. The text argues that the French political soul is inherently split between the desire for a strong, centralized leader who promises glory, and the republican dream of a society governed by law and universal suffrage.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a narrative that feels like a conversation with an astute, well-read observer will find much to admire here. The author writes with a nineteenth-century sensibility—elegant, direct, and deeply committed to the human stories behind the dates and treaties. You will feel the weight of the nineteenth century’s obsession with history, as the characters themselves are constantly looking back at the French Revolution, the First Empire, or the Restoration.

The book is not without its challenges. The pacing is rapid, and the sheer volume of names, titles, and political parties can be dizzying for a modern reader unfamiliar with French history. The author’s tone reflects the era’s attitudes, including a certain detachment when discussing colonial ventures or the harshness of the state’s response to labor unrest. However, these period biases provide a useful window into the mindset of 1892, when the wounds of the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune were still fresh.

What will stay with you is the haunting contrast between the public spectacle—the glittering weddings at the Tuileries, the statues of victory, the triumphal processions—and the private, often brutal reality of the losers. The account of the Commune, told through the experiences of survivors, is particularly visceral. If you are looking for a book that captures the frantic, unstable, and deeply dramatic heartbeat of France as it moved from the age of kings to the modern Republic, this volume offers a rich, unvarnished look at a century that refused to sit still.