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Jean-Paul Marat: Prophet of Terror
A landmark biography of one of the most notorious and controversial protagonists of the French Revolution―Jean-Paul Marat.
Who better to pen an authoritative biography of Jean-Paul Marat (1743–93) than preeminent historian of France, Keith Michael Baker? Decades in the making, this monumental work takes readers on a journey through the intriguing, sometimes shocking life of this writer and thinker.
Starting with his Swiss family and upbringing, Baker then sheds light on Marat’s early years in England, his career as an aspiring scientist in Paris, his gradual transformation from impassioned pamphleteer to revolutionary newspaperman, and, finally, his murder and martyrdom. Throughout, Baker offers readers the unique opportunity to reconsider the outbreak and development of the French Revolution through Marat’s eyes and in his own words. To help make sense of Marat’s trajectory, he shows how his violent and incendiary public calls to render unseen forces visible, to inject immediacy into an increasingly abstract modern world, would transform classical republicanism into the language of the Terror.
Far beyond a standard rendering of Marat’s life and its milestones, this biography offers readers an opportunity to see the French Revolution as never before, through the perspective of one of its major figures. Baker’s book reveals how someone like Marat could go from translating Newton and engaging Franklin to calling for an ever-growing number of heads to roll―a transformation as chillingly relevant as ever.
Who better to pen an authoritative biography of Jean-Paul Marat (1743–93) than preeminent historian of France, Keith Michael Baker? Decades in the making, this monumental work takes readers on a journey through the intriguing, sometimes shocking life of this writer and thinker.
Starting with his Swiss family and upbringing, Baker then sheds light on Marat’s early years in England, his career as an aspiring scientist in Paris, his gradual transformation from impassioned pamphleteer to revolutionary newspaperman, and, finally, his murder and martyrdom. Throughout, Baker offers readers the unique opportunity to reconsider the outbreak and development of the French Revolution through Marat’s eyes and in his own words. To help make sense of Marat’s trajectory, he shows how his violent and incendiary public calls to render unseen forces visible, to inject immediacy into an increasingly abstract modern world, would transform classical republicanism into the language of the Terror.
Far beyond a standard rendering of Marat’s life and its milestones, this biography offers readers an opportunity to see the French Revolution as never before, through the perspective of one of its major figures. Baker’s book reveals how someone like Marat could go from translating Newton and engaging Franklin to calling for an ever-growing number of heads to roll―a transformation as chillingly relevant as ever.
952 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2025
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About the author
Keith Michael Baker
10 books5 followersKeith Baker is professor of early modern European history and, by courtesy, of French and Italian, J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor in the Humanities, and Jean-Paul Gimon Director of the France-Stanford Center. His research focuses on intellectual history and the history of political culture, and on the cultural and political origins of the Englightenment and the French Revolution. He is the author of Condorcet. From Natural Philosophy to Social Mathematics and Inventing the French Revolution. Prof. Baker has held a Guggenheim Fellowship, has been named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques, and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Philosophical Society. In 2014, he won the American Historical Association's lifetime achievement award.
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July 9, 2025
I should preface this review by saying that the French Revolution has long been a favourite subject of mine and I have read around seven books on the Revolution in general, twelve books about Robespierre (along with all ten volumes of his published writing), as well as biographies of, and writings by, Desmoulins and Saint-Just. However, this was my first time reading a book dedicated solely to Marat, other than his work The Chains of Slavery. I already knew a fair bit about Marat's actions during the Revolution but little of his life prior. What I found most interesting in this book, therefore, was the journey through his earlier years that led to his role during the Revolution. At 900 pages, this book was not a quick read, but for the most part it was well paced. I did feel it dragged a little once or twice, but that may be in part because it was outlining events I was already highly familiar with. Overall, though, Jean-Paul Marat - Prophet of Terror came across as a well-researched work that maintained a neutral view, highlighting both positives and negatives in a fair manner. It will certainly be a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the French Revolution. I am giving it 4.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review