Hampson describes how the French Revolution, which seemed to promise an era of Franco-British partnership, led to an even more bitter estrangement between the two nations. Both the British and French peoples saw the revolution of 1789 as offering the prospect of a new Franco-British partnership. These hopes soon foundered on old suspicions and new ideological divergences. The result was to confirm the traditional perception of each nation's own identity, centred on the state in France and the people in Great Britain.

NORMAN HAMPSON was born in 1922. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and University College, Oxford. During the war he served for two years with the Free French navy. He subsequently taught history at the universities of Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and York and has published numerous books on the Enlightenment and the French Revolutions.