« Days of glory and sadness », the sensitive revolution – liberation

Adrien-Joseph Colson is a lawyer at the end of the old regime working for a Parisian aristocrat whose properties he manages. He therefore maintains intense correspondence with their manager who resides in the provinces, near Châteauroux. In addition to being preserved, this correspondence has this rare that Colson not only relates revolutionary events, but also expresses in detail what he feels. Timothy Tacketteminent American specialist in the French Revolution, analyzes with intelligence and meticulousness of this correspondence of a character after all minor, a son of craftsman belonging to the middle class by his legal profession, but remained close to popular circles. His reactions to events therefore acquire all the more interest. Residing in the heart of Paris, near the town hall, this great walker crosses the capital in search of information, frequenting cafes to drink a glass of wine and political chatting.

Colson is not a criticism of the royal government before the revolution but its correspondence, says Timothy Tackett, testifies « Remarkable development of his political conscience » Between 1787 and 1789. If he still considers, like so many others, that the existence of the monarchy goes without saying, frequently expressing his admitted