This guide identifies resources relevant to the VCE History - Revolutions units
The French Revolution is sometimes referred to as the Revolution of 1789, however the revolutionary period is greater than just this one year. It is important to be aware of the social and political climate before the Revolution, which can help shine a light on the causes of the conflict; as well as the societal conditions in the aftermath of Revolution.
Area of study 1 - Causes - spans the period from the accession of Louis XVI in 1774 to the night of 4 August 1789 - the abolition of feudalism. Area of study 2 - Consequences - begins again at 5 August 1789 and continues through to 1795.
For simple, broad overviews of the French Revolution try the Oxford Reference : History database or the Oxford History of the French Revolution. Alpha History also has a very useful French Revolution Timeline.
The Library has a number of ebooks considering issues around the French Revolution. Most of these can be accessed online using your State Library Victoria member number.
Before you begin a search of our catalogue, make sure to read the Catalogue tab of this guide for a basic understanding of how to search.
To search our ebook collection, set the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to 'ebooks'. You can search your keywords anywhere in the record, or search more specifically within the subject as we have done in the example below:
Note that some of our ebooks can only be read onsite at the Library, either on one of our bookable public PCs, or on your own device connected to our wifi.
If you find a title that is particularly useful you can also search for similar books by clicking on the Subjects linked under the Details heading of the record. Remember to also search for works on France in the period before the Revolution for context.
The Library subscribes to a wide range of databases, most of which you can view from home with your free SLV membership.
Filter the database list by subject to see all of our History databases or Historic Newspaper databases.
Search full-text scholarly journals on all subjects published from 1700 up until 1–5 years ago. Articles published before 1923 in United States journals, or before 1870 elsewhere, are freely accessible.
Access the complete content of the London Times, fully searchable and viewable as images.
Cross-search several British newspaper archives, including 19th Century British Newspapers, The Times Digital Archive, The Sunday Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The Illustrated London News.
Once you have chosen a database, you will need to search it by keyword. Use Simple or Basic Search for specific information, or consider Advanced Search when searching several interrelated concepts. Remember that you can filter your results by the kind of resource, or by the year of publication.
Consider doing the following:
An example of an Advanced search from the JSTOR database is shown in the side panel of this guide.
Here are examples of some articles that can be found on specific issues of the French Revolution, the causes and the aftermath.
These articles can be contradictory as different historians interpret the evidence of events in different ways. The articles will also have footnotes and bibliographies that can lead to further articles.
These are just a few examples of articles you can find using our databases and Article search through our Library catalogue. Note that to read the articles you will need to sign in with your SLV membership details.
EuroDocs' History of France: Primary Documents, 1789-1871 webpage includes an excellent collection of links to digitised primary sources, including several collections of French revolutonary pamphlets, and a ground plan of the Bastille when it was seized.
A collection of French Revolution documents and primary sources.
Try this search for holdings at the Library containing primary documents:
These items will mainly be in print, and only available at the Library (not online).
For online primary sources, try these collections from the Archives Unbound database (see Databases box above):
Newspaper archives will be held in some of the collections above, and also in our database collection. See the box on Databases above.
The Majeroni's in Marie Antoinette, H2000.180/25
SLV has a range of physical books relating to the French Revolution. Many will be in storage, but some will be available on the shelf in the Redmond Barry Reading Room.
Perform a catalogue search using the Books scope. You can Ask a Librarian for assistance if you need to order an item from storage. Alternatively, use the Find on Shelf search scope to limit results to books you can read immediately. Note that SLV is not a lending library; books are to be read onsite at the Library.
To browse the shelves, try the range at 944.04 (French History, Revolution 1789-1804). French History more broadly will be at 944-944.9. European History will be upstairs in the Redmond Barry Reading Room mezzanine.
The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution by 
A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution by 
Daily Life During the French Revolution by 
The Origins of the French Revolution by The F ('Folio') series are larger books that don't fit on the regular shelves in the Redmond Barry Reading Room. This series is also held on the mezzanine, but items in the F series will be held separately to the B series. The F series is held on the west side of the mezzanine, over the door to the Cowen gallery.
Note that there will be other books on the French Revolution held in other parts of the Library. For instance, books that are more focused on the ramifications of the Revolution on international law will be held at 341.26.
An example of how to perform an Advanced Search in a database. Here we are searching for information on the Sons of Liberty during the American Revolution in JSTOR. Other databases will have similar features.
