Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources are the raw materials of history—original documents and objects that were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place. The resources listed on this page include both primary and secondary resources available for research online.

Digitized Primary Sources

An Appeal to Impartial Posterity, by Citizenness Roland External
An Appeal to Impartial Posterity, by Citizenness Roland, wife of the Minister of the Home Department, or A Collection of Pieces written by her during her Confinement in the Prisons of the Abbey and St. Pelagie, Part I (London: J. Johnson, 1795). 2 vols. This contains her Historical Memoires.
Correspondance de Madame Élisabeth de France External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. Correspondence of Elisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI. A brilliant description of the courts of Louis XVI.
De la littérature considérée dans ses rapports avec les institutions sociales External
Available in full text from Gallica. This is the text of this original work by Germaine de Staël.
During the reign of terror; journal of my life during the French revolution, by Grace Dalrymple Elliott External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. First-hand account of her time in France during the Terror written by Grace Dalrymple Elliott; with an introduction and notes translated from the French by E. Jules Meras.
Ecrits autour des Révolutions External
This is a digital collection from Gallica that includes written works and documents by Revolutionary figures from both the French and American Revolutions including Madame de Staël's Considérations sur la Révolution Française [Considerations on the French Revolution]
English Translations of Olympe de Gouges' Plays External
Available in full text. This website is an ongoing project to bring the writings of Olympe de Gouges to an English speaking world. All translations are of original source material and more will be added over time. The plan is to carry on translating as many of de Gouges’s works into English as possible. It is an open resource for all those people who wish to read de Gouges’s texts but lack the French proficiency to do so. This site was created by Clarissa Palmer, a playwright and scholar of French.
French Revolution Images Iconography from the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France External
The 5,126 images selected for this digital archive concentrate solely on the period from 1787 through 1799, from the years immediately preceding the outbreak of the Revolution through the emergence of Napoleon. Only visual materials directly tied to the Revolution itself are included. The creators of the initial incarnation of the Images anticipated that scholars would use them for their research and teaching purposes, and that the public at large would find in them an important way of learning more about this foundational moment for the French nation.
French Revolution Pamphlets External
Ball State University Libraries Digital Media Repository Collections in Indiana offers a French Revolution Pamphlets digital collection. It consists of pamphlets produced from 1779 to 1815. Although the French Revolution happened in the decade ranging from 1789 to 1799, this collection of pamphlets documents the time leading up to the revolution through the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). Often privately printed due to newspaper censure by the monarchy, the pamphlets were used to disseminate information and ideals concerning nationalism, citizenship, personal freedoms, and social injustice. Hundreds of pamphlets are available in PDF.
Histoire de la guerre de la Vendée, ou Tableau des guerres civiles de l'ouest, depuis 1792 jusqu'en 1815, comprenant l'Histoire sécrète du parti royaliste jusqu'au rétablissement des Bourbons ... par m. Alph. De Beauchamp 1.

An historical and moral view of the origin and progress of the French Revolution and the effect it has produced in Europe by Mary Wollstonecraft External
An optimistic and rationalist account of the French Revolution based upon first-hand, eyewitness experiences. It was intended to defend the Revolution against critics like Burke. Wollstonecraft explained the violent excesses of the Revolution as an over-reaction caused by the degraded character of the French people which was in turn the result of the despotism of the old regime. Available in full text.

Interesting anecdotes of the heroic conduct of women, previous to, and during the French revolution, 1804
Publication that references women's lives leading up to and during the French Revolution. Begins: Maternal Affection. The instances we shall give of the sacrifices made by maternal affection are not numerous. To relate the various facts of that nature with the care their merit deserves, it would be necessary to visit the multitude of families that were victims of the dreadful conflicts of parties in France, in which would be found mothers wasting the sad remains of life over the cruel recollection of children torn from them forever; it would be necessary to attend to the recital of past dangers by children, saved by the enterprises of their mothers from an untimely fate; it would be necessary to run through every city of France.

Les cahier de doléances External
Même s'il vit encore au rythme des traditions et des contraintes, le XVIIIe siècle est le siècle de tous les changements. La révolution des valeurs bouleverse les habitudes les plus solidement ancrées. Les élites éclairées chantent les vertus de la liberté et de l'égalité et rêvent de bonheur pour le genre humain. Les progrès agricoles et l'ouverture des grandes routes royales dynamisent les échanges, stimulent la consommation et brouillent les frontières entre le luxe et le strict nécessaire.

The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection Catalog
The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection contains rare books from the fifteenth to twentieth centuries and a handful of medieval and renaissance manuscripts. The collection contains 2,653 items of which many date from the Renaissance. To browse the items in the Rosenwald Collection, consult the collection's catalog available in PDF format. The section on 18th century French books, manuscripts, engravings and drawings is found on page 292 of the original print edition and page 314 in digital format.

Les Souvenirs d'une femme du peuple: les mémoires de Marie-Victoire Monnard External
Marie-Victoire Monnard (1777-1869) was an apprentice to a hatmaker in Paris and as such was one of the only working class women to write her memoires during the events of Paris during the Revolution. She wrote about the Insurrection of 10 August 1792 and the September Massacres. This the full digitized text of her work.

Les Tracts Féministes au XVIIIe siècle External
Available in full text from google books. Collection of documents originally published between 1744 and 1838. Many publications from women of the Revolutionary Time period. Table of Contents: I. Les Ecrits Masculin: M. La Coste Le Cadet; Caritat de Condorcet; Jacques-René Hébert; Charles Lacretelle II. Les Ecrites Feminins: Madame Gaston-Dufour; Madame Rigal; Madame Sophie-Rémi de Courtenai de la Fosse-Ronde; Madame Palm d'Aelders III. Les Ecrits Anonymes. Pages 1-36 available on google books. Includes bibliographical references.

Letters Written in France by Helen Maria Williams External
Available in full text from google books. Helen Maria Williams was a poet, novelist, and radical thinker deeply immersed in the political struggles of the 1790s. She was an idealistic young British writer who moved to Paris in 1790 and many of her accounts describe, if not Léon by name, women in her situation, and thus she is an invaluable source of information. Her Letters Written in France is the first and most important of eight volumes chronicling the French Revolution to an England fearful of another civil war. Her twenty-six letters recounting old regime tyranny and revolutionary events provide both an apology for the Revolution and a representation of it as sublime spectacle. There are many accounts that shed light on the life of Pauline Léon.

Memoires of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. Translated memories written by Madame Campan, lady's maid in the service of Marie Antoinette and later appointed head mistress to the first "Maison d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur" by Napoleon. This work is a valuable source of information from this time period. Although Mme. Campan's works were published posthumously, they are first-hand accounts.

Mémoires de Mme la duchesse d'Abrantès ou Souvenirs historiques sur Napoléon, La Révolution, le Directoire, le Consulat, l'Empire et la Restauration. External
The wife of the Napoleonic general Junot, known for her elevated social position during the Empire. In this volume, Mme d'Abrantès recalls a few vivid childhood memories of the Estates General and of the young Bonaparte frequenting her Corsican-born mother. [see "Compelled to Witness" by Marilyn Yalom]

Nouveaux dialogues des morts entre les plus fameux personnages de la révolution française et plusieurs hommes célèbres, anciens et modernes, morts avant la révolution
Dialogues des morts, a classical format (inaugurated by Lucian of Samosata in the second century CE) in which the great figures of the distant or more recent past are brought together in conversation in the hereafter, commenting on their own lives and on the changes that have been made since their passing.-Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead, trans. by M. D. MacLeod, in Lucian, 8 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913–67), VII (1961), pp. 1–175. French iterations of the genre across the seventeenth century included collections by Fénelon and Fontenelle, and the latter in particular revives a large number of women, including Dido, Mary Queen of Scots, Sappho, Petrarch's Laura, Bérénice, and Helen of Troy (Bernard de Fontenelle, Nouveaux dialogues des morts (1683), in Œuvres complètes, ed. by Alain Niderst, 9 vols (Paris: Fayard, 1989–2001), I (1989), pp. 47–211).

Prison journals during the French revolution by the Duchesse de Duras, née Noailles. Tr. by Mrs. M. Carey External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. This translated text includes the first-hand accounts of many prisoners of the Revolution, particularly from the ranks of the aristocracy and nobility. Table of Contents: Prison Life During the French Revolution; Madame Latour's Memoir; Events of the 21st of July, 1794; Narrative of an Eye-witness of the Affair of July 22, 1794; Letter from Madame la Duchesse de Duras, née Noailles, to Monsieur Grelet; Extract from the "Mémorial Européen" April 24, 1809.

Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789-1795 External
Available in part from google books. This publication is absolutely invaluable for its translations of primary accounts, organization and thorough index of women of the Revolution including not only the more famous but also the lesser-known individuals such as Audu , Léon and Lacombe. Notes and commentary by Darline Gay Levy, Harriet Branson Applewhite, Mary Durham Johnson. Includes documents, speeches, petitions, grievances, written protests, meeting notes, pamphlets and letters. Serves as a good complement to Dominique Godineau's The Women of Paris and their French Revolution. This link reveals only the first 60 pages of the book.

Secondary Sources

The Biographies of Madame de Staël and Madame Roland by Lydia Maria Child (1832)
Preface: Biography is so universally fascinating, that it was very naturally the first subject presented to my mind; and I believe I am not mistaken in supposing that the Lives of Madame de Staël and Madame Roland will prove unusually attractive both on account of their own great qualities and the very exciting historical events with which they are so intimately connected.
Books relating to the French Revolution from the Collection of John Boyd Thacher External
Catalogue of autographs relating to the French Revolution compiled by Henry Eldridge Bourne and Gertrude Albion MacCormick. This collection of autographic material relating to the Revolution was donated to the Library of Congress by Mrs. John Boyd Thacher in 1921. Mr. Thacher spent a great deal of his life studying the French Revolution and looked at originals letters and documents on his frequent visits to France.
Charlotte Corday by Bernardine Melchior-Bonnet External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. Biography of Charlotte Corday. Table of Contents: Enfances normandes; Un révolutionnaire s'affirme; Effervescence en Normandie; L'ombre de la guillotine; Les angoisses d'une décision; De Caen à Paris; Veillée d'armes; Un couteau de quarante sols; L arrestation; Dans la paix du cachot; Face à ses juges; Le chemin de l echafaud; Terreur, fureur, ferveur; Conclusion.
The Daughter of Louis XVI Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, de France, Duchess d'Angoulême. External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. French editions also available. Search: Angoulême (Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte de France, duchesse d'), 1778-1851. See also: Mémoires particuliers, formant, avec l'ouvrage de M. Hüe et le journal de Cléry, L'histoire complète de la captivité de la famille royale à la Tour du Temple. Paris: Audot, 1817. Surviving child of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Wife of the Duc d'Angoulême, her first cousin and heir apparent to the throne after 1815. Adult reputation as haughty, courageous, and most unfortunate in all aspects of her life. [Compelled to Witness by Marilyn Yalom]
The Dungeons of Old Paris
Chapter 10 (page 195) is on The Bastille (see page 227 in digital copy).
Heroines of French society in the court, the revolution, the empire and the restoration
By Mrs. Catherine Bearne. Published in 1907. Illustrated. Contents include: I. Madame Vigée Le Brun.--II. La marquise de Montagu.--III. Madame Tallien.--IV. Madame de Genlis.
Histoire-musée de la république Française, depuis l'assemblée des notables, Paris, Delloye, 1842. External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. This rare treasure of a volume authored by Augustin Challamel, is part of the John Boyd Thacher Collection in the Rare Book Division, Thacher, II, p. 18 (French Revolution). There is a copy listed in the general collections. HathiTrust holds a fully digitized version from the Princeton Library. It is rich with engravings of various figures of the French Revolution including artistic representations of the sans-culotte, Necker, various women sporting wild hairstyles not to mention a fascinating interpretation of the events of the time. Published in 1842.
An historical account of the black empire of Hayti / Marcus Rainsford ; edited and with an Introduction by Paul Youngquist and Grégory Pierrot. External
As the first complete narrative in English of the Haitian Revolution, Marcus Rainsford's An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti was highly influential in establishing nineteenth-century world opinion of this momentous event. This new edition is the first to appear since the original publication in 1805. Rainsford, a career officer in the British army, went to Haiti to recruit black soldiers for the British. By publishing his observations of the prowess of black troops, and recounting his meetings with Toussaint Louverture, Rainsford offered eyewitness testimonial that acknowledged the intelligence and effectiveness of the Haitian rebels. Although not an abolitionist, Rainsford nonetheless was supportive of the independent state of Haiti, which he argued posed no threat to British colonial interests in the West Indies, an extremely unusual stance at the time. Rainsford's account made an immediate impact upon publication; it was widely reviewed, and translated twice in its first year. Paul Youngquist's and Grégory Pierrot's critical introduction to this new edition provides contextual and historical details, as well as new biographical information about Rainsford. Of particular interest is a newly discovered miniature painting of Louverture attributed to Rainsford, which is reproduced along with the twelve engravings that accompanied his original account.
History of Mme. Roland by Jacob Abbott
Full text on Internet Archive. This work has 42 illustrations and is available in original print from the Library of Congress Rare Book & Special Collections Division. DC 146.R7 A4 1900.
La Marquise de Condorcet: sa Famille, Son Salon, Ses Amis External
Available in full text from Internet Archive and HathiTrust. Biography on Marie-Louise-Sophie de Grouchy, the future Madame de Condorcet. Table of Contents: L'Enfance et la Jeunesse de Mademoiselle de Grouchy; Le Salon des Condorcet; L'Aube des Temps nouveaux; Fuite et mort de Condorcet; La Vie reprend ses droits; Une Passion orageuse; Les Consolations d'un nouveau Foyer; Les Dernières Années; Bibliographie, 281. [Madame de Condorcet: Her Friends, her salon, and Her Lovers]
Les femmes célèbres de 1789 à 1795, et leur influence dans la révolution... par E. Lairtullier External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. Famous Women of 1789 to 1795 and their influence in the Revolution. This two-volume book covers many women of the Revolution including: Théroigne de Mericourt, Madame Necker (de Staël), Charlotte Corday, Suzette Labrousse, Madame Roland, and "La Mére Duchesne".
Les Femmes de la Révolution by Jules Michelet External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. This is the full text of the classic work by renowned French historian Jules Michelet.
Les origines du féminisme contemporain: trois femmes de la Révolution External
Available in full text from Gallica. Biography on three of the most significant and remarkable women of the French Revolution.
Madame Récamier, the biography of a flirt by Henry Dwight Sedgwick External
Available in full text from Internet Archive (time limit). One of the few English-language biographies of Récamier by an author of many such historical works. Despite the somewhat dismissive title, a thorough and well researched account of her life. Table of Contents: Before and During the Revolution; The Domination of Napoleon (1799-1815); The Restoration (1814-1830); Louis Philippe (1830-1848).
Madame Récamier and her friends External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. Translated from the French of Madame Lenormant by Isaphene M. Luyster.
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont: sa vie, son temps External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. A biographical summary of the life and times of Charlotte Corday.
Marie Antoinette: the journey by Antonia Fraser External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. Classic biography on Marie Antoinette. Table of Contents: Madame Antoine; The Dauphine; Queen Consort; The Austrian Woman; Widow Capet.
The Passionate Exiles: Madame de Staël and Madame Récamier External
Available in full text from Internet Archive. This biography covers two of the most notable women of the French Revolution and their genuine and life-long friendship.
Pictures of the old French court; Jeanne de Bourbon, Isabeau de Bavière, Anne de Bretagne
By Mrs Bearne. Published 1900. Contents Include: Jeanne de Bourbon,--Queen, consort of Charles V, King of France,--1335-1378, Isabella,--Queen, consort of Charles VI, King of France,--1370-1435, Anne,--of Brittany, Queen, consort of Louis XII, King of France,--1476-1514
Notes.
A Woman of the Revolution: Théroigne de Méricourt by Frank Hamel External
Available in full text from several online sources including Internet Archive and HathiTrust. A thorough and thoughtful biography on Théroigne de Méricort. Table of Contents: The Peasant; The Patriot; Théroigne's Club; The Citoyennes; Flight and Capture; Kufstein; To Arms! To Arms; Suleau; Brissotine; La Salpêtrière: Théroigne and the Royalist Press; Notes on some Portraits of Théoigne de Méricourt.
Women in the French Revolution: A bibliography External
Digital copy in full. This is the full text of an excellent bibliography of all written works about women in the French Revolution. It was published in 1989 and is therefore only as current as that date makes possible.
Women of the French Revolution by Winifred Stephens External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. This is the full text of Winifred Stephen's work on women of the French Revolution.
Women of the Revolutionary Era, or Some who Stirred France External
Available in full text from HathiTrust. Originally published in 1914, author Andrew Haggard wrote extensively on this time period in history. His writings are of interest especially as a perspective from the turn of the century.

Women in the French Revolution: A Resource Guide

Primary and Secondary Sources

Digitized Primary Sources