Violence was an inescapable part of people's daily

lives in eighteenth-century France. The Revolution

in general and the Terror in particular were

marked by intense outbursts of political violence,

whilst the abuse of wives, children and servants

was still rife in the home. But the representation of

violence in its myriad forms remains aesthetically

troublesome.

Drawing on correspondence, pamphlets, novels

and plays, authors analyse the portrayal of violence

as a rational act, the basis of (re)written history, an

expression of institutional power, and a challenge

to morality. Contributions include explorations of :

- the use of the dream séquence in fiction to

comprehend violence ;

- how rhetoric can manipulate violent

historical truth, as documented by Burke in

his Reflections on the Revolution in France ;

- the political implications of commemorating

the massacre at the Tuileries of 10 August

1792 ;

- how Sade's graphic descriptions of violence

place the reader in a morally ambivalent

position ;

- the differing responses of individuals

subjected to brutal incarceration at

Vincennes and the Bastille ;

- the constructive force of violence as a means

of creating a sense of self.