Revolutionary Writings

An accessible and annotated edition of Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France with the first Letter on a Regicide Peace.

New edition of the leading theoretical articulation against the French Revolution which brings together for the first time Burke's first and last published thoughts on the revolution as well as his Letter on a Regicide Peace. A comprehensive introduction and thorough annotations open up this classic text to modern readers.Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France was the first sustained theoretical critique of the French Revolution; and is now recognised as the classic statement of modern conservatism. Reflections surveys the British political culture of traditionalism, gradualism and deference, and contrasts it with the French Revolutionaries' programme of appeal to abstract right, transformational change and popular agency. Ultimately Burke advocated a counterrevolutionary war and the restoration of the French monarchy. This accessible new edition brings together for the first time Burke's first and last published thoughts on the revolution including as it does the first Letter on a Regicide Peace; a work that has contributed to a particular view of international society. Featuring a comprehensive introduction and extensive annotations, Iain Hampsher-Monk's edition helps readers new to Burke to better understand the historical, political and philosophical context behind his writings, and the significance of contemporary and classical allusions.