England and the French Revolution, 1789-1797 (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from England and the French Revolution, 1789-1797 By the close of the year 1791 no question in English politics received greater attention than did the French Revolution. The first thing that requires explanation in this discussion, therefore, is the process by which the domestic affairs of France became in so short a time the vital question on which the political parties in England were divided. Several events which took place in the latter part Of 1789, in 1790, and in the early months Of 1791 prepared the way for the introduction of this troublesome question into the party politics of Great Britain. Chief among these events was the publication of three pamphlets. It is not likely that any one of these productions had the effect which its author anticipated. Probably no one of them, if left alone, would have exerted any considerable influence on the English people. Their importance lies in the subsequent events to which they had been a necessary prelude, and we cannot understand these events without some knowledge Of the nature of the pamphlets and the circumstances which at tended their publication. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.