The Rhetoric of Historical Representation: Three Narrative Histories of the French Revolution

Ann Rigney

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511549946

The role which narrative discourse plays in the writing of history is an area of increasing interest to historians and literary theorists, resulting in some of the most stimulating and controversial historiographical work in recent years. The rhetoric of historical representation represents one of the first attempts to carry out a sustained textual analysis of historiographical practice. Ann Rigney focusses on three celebrated nineteenth-century histories of the French Revolution, written by Alphonse de Lamartine, Jules Michelet and Louis Blanc. What distinguishes her account is the sensitivity and sophistication with which she handles the semiotic issues each text raises. She shows how a greater understanding of the specific features of historical narration can be achieved through a comparative analysis of the different representations of a common event. This fresh new perspective on a long-standing historiographical debate brings into relief the ways in which the narrative medium can be used to invest events with one significance rather than another.

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The Rhetoric of Historical Representation

Three Narrative Histories of the French Revolution

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Preface
pp ix-xii

Acknowledgements
pp xiii-xiv

Introduction
pp 1-18

1 - Historical representation and discursive context
pp 19-62

2 - The narrative configuration of historical events
pp 63-102

3 - The configuration of actors I
pp 103-136

4 - The configuration of actors II
pp 137-170

Conclusion
pp 171-176

References
pp 177-184

Index
pp 185-190

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The Rhetoric of Historical Representation

Three Narrative Histories of the French Revolution

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