Presented here is an English translation of a study that was part of a distinguished French series on the country's post-Revolution history. Unlike much Napoleonic literature that features the personality and foreign policy of the Emperor, it describes the condition of France and the French people during the fifteen years immediately following their great revolution. The translator, R. R. Palmer, is a distinguished historian who has written and translated many books in French history, including The Coming of the French Revolution by Georges Lefebvre (Princeton).

Applying...