Bosher, J. F.The French Revolution. Norton, 1989. A thorough and well-illustrated study that places particular emphasis on the years prior to the outbreak of violence in 1789.
Dunn, Susan.Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light. Faber & Faber, 1999, 2000. Compares the causes and ideas behind the French Revolution and the American Revolution and the resulting systems of government.
Hibbert, Christopher.The Days of the French Revolution. Morrow, HarperCollins, 1981. 1999. Provides day-by-day coverage of the French Revolution; for general readers, with illustrations.
Lefebvre, Georges.Trans. R. R. Palmer.Coming of the French Revolution, 1789. Princeton University Press, 1947, 1989. The standard study of the French Revolution's origins, first published in 1939.
Schama, Simon.Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. Random House, 1990. A revisionist perspective marking the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, complete with maps and illustrations.