Perceptions of conspiracy on the eve on the French Revolution

This is a chapter in the first academic volume on conspiracy in the French revolution, which brings together leading scholars chapter by chapter into a coherent book rather than a collection of papers. My chapter is chapter 1. In my view the whole book (and not just this chapter) should be submitted to the RAE as an edited book which has value not only for my two chapters (introduction and this chapter) but also is a succesful international collaborative project. It is the first book on the subject ever, and yet it goes to the heart of recent debates over the revolution, as highlighted in some recent articles. It will have substantial research impact in its field, as the reader's report says.