Prologue

Abstract

The Prologue sets the scene by describing the book’s protagonist on his deathbed in the late spring of 1797 and the thoughts that may well have come into his mind concerning his life before and, especially, during the French Revolution. It describes the principal source on which the study is based, the extensive correspondence from Colson to his friend, almost miraculously preserved in the archives of a small town in Central France. It also introduces some of the major themes to be examined. It argues that the life of Colson is important, first, as it throws light on the beliefs and behavior of the whole community of his neighbors on a small street in central Paris, many of whom would come to describe themselves as “sans-culottes”; second, as it illuminates his relations with the noble family for whom he worked as lawyer and financial accountant; and third, as it provides the example of a relatively elderly citizen in the Revolution—who was sixty-two years old in 1789. It concludes with a rapid overview of the chapters in the book.