Twelve essays by as many scholars reconsider the French Revolution in the long term and the short term, examining both the immediate events of 1789 and their long shadow over other countries and times, including our own. Some chapters focus on the Paris experience, others give a glimpse of the Revolution in the provinces or beyond the borders of France itself. To determine what it achieved, what it meant, and what it continues to mean, the scope of the study must include history and art, science and literature, Switzerland, England, Germany, Russia, Napoleon's Europe and Mitterand's. These essays originated as public lectures in the University of Sheffield, and retain much of their original liveliness and broad appeal. From a variety of vantage points they view a crucial moment in post-Renaissance history, and gauge how the light of that moment shines in our own time.