Introduction

Abstract

Few if any inaugural lectures can have had the enduring impact of ‘The myth of the French Revolution’, delivered by the late Alfred Cobban to University College, London, in 1954 [145 (b)]. It marked the beginning of a controversy about the origins, nature and consequences of the French Revolution which has dominated writing on the subject ever since and which shows no signs of flagging. So voluminous has the literature become, that this short book can do no more than outline the present state of hostilities and suggest how further reading might add substance to the sketch offered.