So, the Fourth of July has come and gone, and now it's time to remember another significant revolution, one that was inspired at least in part by ours. The July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison in Paris to release the seven inmates held there at the time marked the beginning of the French Revolution. (In France, the day is known as le quatorze juillet ~ the Fourteenth of July ~ or la fête nationale ~ the national celebration.) A little over a month later, King Louis XVI (1754-1792), who was later executed, signed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which outlined the rights of all citizens regardless of their social position. The day became an official holiday in 1880 and, like our Fourth of July, is celebrated with parades and fireworks (website, including a link to live coverage of the fireworks): http://bastille-day.com/
Interestingly, there is also a second quatorze juillet that is sometimes referenced on that date (http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2013/07/which-quatorze-juillet.html), and it has more to do with peace than with conflict.
Of course, the most famous novel about this period of French history has to be Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, and should you decide to tackle it (all 300-plus pages in the paperback edition) but don't have a copy on you, go to http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98.
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