Gregory Claeys explores the reception of the French Revolution in Britain through the medium of its leading interpreters. Claeys argues that the major figures - Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin and John Thelwall - collectively laid the foundations for political debate for the following century, and longer.

Acknowledgements.- Chronology.- Introduction: The Origins of Modern Political Discourse.- Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) and the Origins of Conservatism.- Thomas Paine: Rights of Man (1791-2) and the Origins of Radicalism.- Mary Wollstonecraft: Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and the Origins of Feminism.- The Spectre of 'Levelling': Loyalists and Paineites, c.1791-5.- Varieties of Whiggism: Fox, Sheridan and the Whig Party, 1791-3.- William Godwin: Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793) and the Origins of Philisophical Anarchism.- John Thelwall and the Rights of Labour.- Conclusion.- Notes.- Reading List: Major Figures.- Index.

'Claeys has an enviable gift for expounding lucidly what are often complicated and sophisticated arguments. Any student working on the political and social thought of England in the 1790s will find this a very helpful introduction.' - Tim Blanning, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, UK