Robespierre was one of the most powerful and the most feared leaders of the French Revolution. John Hardman describes the career of this ruthless political manipulator, and in the process explores the dynamics of the French revolutionary movement and the ferocious and self-destructive rivalries of its leadership.This original book gets behind the polished but chilly surface of the public persona to reveal how Robespierre came by his extraordinary power and how he used it. *Focusing on Robespierre's administration, John Hardman provides a dramatic vantage point from which to survey the main phase of the Revolution itself. *Examines the key institutions, Robespierre's 'levers of power', and the constituents of his faction to try to understand the man himself.*Analyses the triggers of his downfall in 1794 - a mere year after he took power. 'Its judgments are characteristically balanced and dispassionate and...entirely convincing.' English Historical Review