The Political History of France, 1789-1910: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Political History of France, 1789-1910, credited to Muriel O. Davis, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Political History of France, 1789-1910 by Muriel O. Davis. Read in English by Pamela Nagami This little book opens on the eve of the French Revolution. The government is crippled by financial mismanagement, ruled by a King who, in the author's words, is "devoid of both ability and energy," and resented by a tax-oppressed peasantry and a rising middle class. The Revolution escapes the control of its instigators and France is plunged into the Terror and international war. Enter Napoleon, a man with "an enormous capacity for work," who can "get to the root of a matter and master technicalities with great swiftness," but whose "vulgar desire for recognition...and his inability to feel the sufferings of others" ultimately leads to his country's downfall. Davis then presents the careers of Napoleon's successors, including his nephew, Louis Napoleon who, scarcely better than an inept imposter, plunges France in 1870 into the disastrous Franco-Prussian War. In the wake of French defeat, the anti-semitic mass hysteria of the Dreyfus case polarizes French society for over a decade. The book, which was published in 1916, ends in 1910 with France, menaced by Germany, "on the eve of the greatest war the world has ever seen." - Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Political History of France, 1789-1910
• Author credits: Muriel O. Davis
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 16
• Listed recording duration: 4:36:48

Catalogue topics

• french revolution
• battle of waterloo
• the terror
• napoleon bonaparte
• napoleon iii
• louis philippe
• louis xvi
• battle of austeritz

Track guide

1. 01 - Ch. 1: The Causes of the French Revolution, Pt. 1 — 20:30
2. 02 - Ch. 1: The Causes of the French Revolution, Pt. 2 — 19:57
3. 03 - Ch. 2: The Constituent Assembly, Pt. 1 — 13:33
4. 04 - Ch. 2: The Constituent Assembly, Pt. 2 — 14:28
5. 05 - Ch. 3: The Legislative Assembly, Pt. 1 — 15:51
6. 06 - Ch. 3: The Legislative Assembly, Pt. 2 — 16:02
7. 07 - Ch. 3: The Legislative Assembly, Pt. 3 — 14:11
8. 08 - Ch. 4: The Directory, 1795-9, and the Consulate, down to the Peace of Amiens, Pt. 1 — 12:38
9. 09 - Ch. 4: The Directory, 1795-9, and the Consulate, down to the Peace of Amiens, Pt. 2 — 11:28
10. 10 - Ch. 5: From the Peace of Amiens to the Exile of Napoleon to Elba — 26:30
11. 11 - Ch. 6: The Bourbon Restoration: 1814-24, Louis XVIII; 1824-30, Charles X — 25:24
12. 12 - Ch. 7: Louis Philippe 1830-48: The Orléans Monarchy or the July Monarchy — 22:45
13. 13 - Ch. 8: Louis Napoleon, President of the French Republic, 1848-52; Emperor of the French, 1852-70, Pt. 1 — 12:49
14. 14 - Ch. 8: Louis Napoleon, President of the French Republic, 1848-52, Emperor of the French, 1852-70, Pt. 2 — 15:13
15. 15 - Ch. 9: The History of the Third Republic down to 1910, Pt. 1 — 16:25
16. 16 - Ch. 9: The History of the Third Republic down to 1910, Pt. 2 — 19:05

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.