The Recollections

The Recollections is a book by Alexis de Tocqueville, first published in 1893. Written as a private memoir rather than for the public eye, it offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of the French Revolution of 1848 and the birth of the short-lived Second Republic. Tocqueville writes as both participant and observer: a liberal aristocrat and deputy in the Chamber, watching Paris descend into revolution, the monarchy of Louis-Philippe collapse, and the new republican experiment stumble almost from its first days. The result is a compelling mix of personal recollection, political analysis, and historical narrative that reads like an eyewitness chronicle of nineteenth-century France in crisis. Across these pages Tocqueville reconstructs the months between the February uprising and his resignation from office in October 1849. At the same time, The Recollections is an extended meditation on democracy, revolution, and political responsibility. Tocqueville probes the deeper causes of France’s instability, contrasting the turbulent politics of Paris with the steadier habits of constitutional government he admired elsewhere. He reflects on the dangers of populist rhetoric, the temptations of authoritarian saviours, and the fragility of liberty when societies are divided by class and ideology. For modern readers interested in political thought, European history, or the dynamics of regime change, his analysis feels strikingly contemporary. Rich in character sketches, sharp observations, and candid self-criticism, Tocqueville’s account stands as one of the most important first-hand narratives of the 1848 upheavals and a key companion to his more formal works on democracy and the French Revolution. This translation by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos was first published in 1896.