Reconsidering the Jacobin: Representations of Radicalism in England and France, 1790-1792

This thesis investigates the changing representations of Jacobinism in England and in France during the period 1790-1792, with a view to reconsidering the category of “English Jacobin” literature. It argues that Jacobinism has largely been considered in the light of the Terror in France and the Anti-Jacobin response in England. In the early years of the French Revolution, however, a more nuanced interpretation of Jacobinism is possible, and provides a fruitful way of studying “English Jacobin” authors.

While it is important to appreciate the English foundations of Jacobin thought, this thesis addresses a second contributing factor to the concept of “English Jacobinism”: the influence of French Jacobinism itself. The events of the French Revolution, and the constantly changing representations of the Jacobins, demanded a continual renegotiation of the English Jacobins’ relationship with France. This was complicated in two main ways: on the one hand, the conservative backlash against French Jacobins and their “innovating” influence; and on the other hand, the continuation, during the early 1790s, of correspondence and communication between French and English Jacobins. The sense of a consensus between these groups was complicated by their different political and social origins, and often led the English Jacobins to be misrepresented. This thesis is concerned with both the representation and the reality of English interactions with Jacobinism.

By considering the early years of the French Revolution and the formation of Jacobin thought, this study shows that there were certainly shared principles between French and English Jacobins, and that English Jacobins held true to original Jacobin ideology, both in their agitation for political change and in their writing. The thesis concludes with an investigation of how the principle of Jacobin citizenship was developed and explored in literature, and suggests the importance of French Jacobin ideology in understanding English Jacobin literature.