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City of Darkness, City of Light
As the vibrant, urgent events of the French Revolution gather momentum towards a bloodbath, they sweep with them six people for whom the turbulent times hold very different promises.
For Georges Danton, there are the pleasures of oratory and the profits of office; for Nicolas de Condorcet, the intellectual, libertarian utopia of his dreams. Manon Roland basks in her status as a minister's wife and salon hostess, while Max Robespierre wages war on universal corruption. Chocolatière Pauline Léon first marches for bread, then comes to enjoy the power and camaraderie of the mob, and actress Claire Lacombe champions women's independence - particularly her own.
And as the juggernaut the six have helped create rolls inexorably on, crushing some under its weight, the survivors' whole world will be profoundly changed ...
For Georges Danton, there are the pleasures of oratory and the profits of office; for Nicolas de Condorcet, the intellectual, libertarian utopia of his dreams. Manon Roland basks in her status as a minister's wife and salon hostess, while Max Robespierre wages war on universal corruption. Chocolatière Pauline Léon first marches for bread, then comes to enjoy the power and camaraderie of the mob, and actress Claire Lacombe champions women's independence - particularly her own.
And as the juggernaut the six have helped create rolls inexorably on, crushing some under its weight, the survivors' whole world will be profoundly changed ...
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First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
September 27, 2012
My friend Jemidar and I decided to read this book together because after finishing Hilary Mantel's wonderful A Place of Greater Safety, we missed its chief protagonists, that is, Camille Desmoulins, Georges-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre, and we wanted to further immerse ourselves in the events of the French Revolution. The novel tells the stories of Danton and Robespierre, along with those of three other players in the Revolution: actress Claire Lacombe and chocolate maker Pauline Léon (who between them founded and led the influential Society of Revolutionary Women), middle-class political activist Manon Roland and mathematician, philosopher and politician Nicolas Condorcet. Piercy explores events from 1789 to 1794 chapters which alternate the point of view of the six main characters.*
At first, reading the novel seemed like less than a good idea. Piercy's style is very different from that of Mantel. The narrative is much less dialogue driven than that of A Place of Greater Safety and much heavier on exposition. While a reader wanting to be told the facts may consider that an advantage, I missed the feeling that I was seeing events through the character's eyes and thinking their thoughts. Instead, I was often being told things by the author rather than shown things by the characters. However, as I continued to read, that aspect of the novel bothered me less and I was soon thoroughly engaged with the characters and the events through which they lived.
This was another fascinating excursion into the events of the French Revolution, something about which I previously had only the sketchiest of knowledge. Overall, I prefer A Place of Greater Safety, largely because I prefer Mantel's style, but also because I was disappointed that Piercy ended the novel with a speculative flight of fancy. But it's a close run thing. Piercy brings her characters to life and tells an interesting story in an engaging and accessible way. In addition, through the inclusion of Claire Lacombe and Pauline Léon as characters, Piercy provides a female and working class (sans culottes) perspective which is missing from A Place of Greater Safety. As far as ratings go, it's hovering at around the 4-1/2 star mark.
* Camille Demoulins, who is such a strong presence in Mantel's novel, is a more minor character in this one.
January 17, 2018
I generally adore Marge Piercy's books, but this one beat me to a pulp. It is an ambitious tale about the French Revolution, and has six major real-life characters. My problem here is that each chapter is told from a different character's viewpoint. For the first six chapters this is fine: we are introduced to each person, get to know them and their backgrounds a little bit, then we go rushing off to the next person.
But after those first six chapters, the alternation becomes annoying. The chapters are short and just as I would get back into one person's story, boom! it was over and I was trying to remember who this next character was. I was forewarned of this by a page in the front of the book where the only message is the following:
To The Reader ~~ If at any point you find yourself confused about who a character is, please consult the chart at the book's end.
I peeked at that chart when I saw that message. All nine pages of it. Sigh.
I was fascinated by some of the details Piercy included about life in France during those days, and by her idea (in 1996) that America was in a very similar situation. But I never could lose myself in the book: it was very easy to put down and it became harder and harder to pick up as I went along.
This evening I finally decided I am not going to keep fighting this one. I might hang onto it and try it again at some point in the future, then again I might just give it away and let someone else wrestle with it.
DNF at about page 150 of 479.
But after those first six chapters, the alternation becomes annoying. The chapters are short and just as I would get back into one person's story, boom! it was over and I was trying to remember who this next character was. I was forewarned of this by a page in the front of the book where the only message is the following:
To The Reader ~~ If at any point you find yourself confused about who a character is, please consult the chart at the book's end.
I peeked at that chart when I saw that message. All nine pages of it. Sigh.
I was fascinated by some of the details Piercy included about life in France during those days, and by her idea (in 1996) that America was in a very similar situation. But I never could lose myself in the book: it was very easy to put down and it became harder and harder to pick up as I went along.
This evening I finally decided I am not going to keep fighting this one. I might hang onto it and try it again at some point in the future, then again I might just give it away and let someone else wrestle with it.
DNF at about page 150 of 479.
December 17, 2019
I found this a real page-turner, although with 595 pages you do need a bit of space in which to delve into it. I was travelling (ten hours by ferry) so I was able to indulge myself. Not that the subject matter is easy - the French Revolution - but being a coward at heart I have always admired people who are willing to give up family, home, safety and comfort for an ideal. This book takes you through a fictionalised account of six real-life people whose influence and actions formed and shaped the Revolution of 1789. It is meticulously researched, and is a lively and imaginative narrative of the circumstances that led to revolution and the chain of events that ensued. In a vivid account of the turbulence and horror that resulted from the pursuit of ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’, the author recreates the lives of these six characters and make us a present of their zeal, their passions, and their acquiescence in a supreme, if terrible, moment of human progress.
There are three men and three women. The men are Robespierre, Danton, and someone I’d never heard of before, Nicolas Marquis de Condorcet, a liberal intellectual whose "Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès de l'esprit humain" (“Sketch of the Intellectual Progress of Mankind”, as this author translates it) I must now read. Here is the young Nicolas:
“He did his work, he attended his meetings, and he dreamed of change that never seemed to come. In Versailles the Queen gambled away fortunes while hundreds of courtiers danced the Quadrille and dressed in ever more outlandish styles until they resembled mechanical insects of gold. In the liberal salons of Paris, men and women discussed America, where reason and liberty were exalted, where people spoke plainly, dressed simply and fought to the death for something new and fine, a republic.”
The women are Manon Roland, a writer and shaper of the revolution, albeit through her husband’s name and office, and through her ‘salon’; Claire Lacombe, an actress who became a revolutionary; and Pauline Léon, a chocolate-maker who with Claire Lacombe led the working women of Paris to arms. The hardships of the lives of the poor of France are described in graphic detail, particularly the brutal repression that passed for a judicial system under the Ancien Régime, in the context of which the guillotine is viewed as merciful. Yet the Ideal, the Revolution, turns on itself until it resembles the wheel on which peasants were broken under the old régime; only now it is the instigators themselves who are spiralled into a wheel of death, as betrayal follows upon betrayal. As one of the women remarks, they started, not achieved, the Revolution.
The structure of the book is a series of eighty-five very short chapters, each dealing in turn with one of the six characters, as the revolution marches on. This makes it a lot easier to read if you only have a few minutes at a time. The style bowls you along, but I thought there was an overuse of modern (American) idiom that to me sat oddly with the context. I realise that this could just be that I’m used to reading British English, but I struggled with people in the eighteenth century talking about “guys” and “kids” in a non-idiomatic context – it jolted me out of any suspension of disbelief. There was also a fair sprinkling of what is still considered a swear word in British English, to describe the marital relations of the characters. It’s a graphic novel, so some graphic language is necessary. It’s a good read, if not great literature.
There’s a strong feminist thread throughout the novel that plays out in the fate of the three women, one of whom hides dutifully behind her husband while the other two pursue independence of thought and action against all the odds. The Revolutionary Republican Women inspire fear in the men, seen by them as “wild and dangerous”; so it comes as no surprise that in history the counter-revolution brings before anything else their suppression, their power increasingly restricted to that of the courtesan, as the monarchy is restored, followed by Empire. Despite the unshrinking recounting of revolutionary horrors, it is the attitudes of men to women, and the courage of the women in this novel that emerge as the personal driving force of the author. My edition tells me that Marge Piercy has been active in the women’s movement and in political movements, and has lived in Paris. And I can read about Paris till the cows come home.
There are three men and three women. The men are Robespierre, Danton, and someone I’d never heard of before, Nicolas Marquis de Condorcet, a liberal intellectual whose "Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès de l'esprit humain" (“Sketch of the Intellectual Progress of Mankind”, as this author translates it) I must now read. Here is the young Nicolas:
“He did his work, he attended his meetings, and he dreamed of change that never seemed to come. In Versailles the Queen gambled away fortunes while hundreds of courtiers danced the Quadrille and dressed in ever more outlandish styles until they resembled mechanical insects of gold. In the liberal salons of Paris, men and women discussed America, where reason and liberty were exalted, where people spoke plainly, dressed simply and fought to the death for something new and fine, a republic.”
The women are Manon Roland, a writer and shaper of the revolution, albeit through her husband’s name and office, and through her ‘salon’; Claire Lacombe, an actress who became a revolutionary; and Pauline Léon, a chocolate-maker who with Claire Lacombe led the working women of Paris to arms. The hardships of the lives of the poor of France are described in graphic detail, particularly the brutal repression that passed for a judicial system under the Ancien Régime, in the context of which the guillotine is viewed as merciful. Yet the Ideal, the Revolution, turns on itself until it resembles the wheel on which peasants were broken under the old régime; only now it is the instigators themselves who are spiralled into a wheel of death, as betrayal follows upon betrayal. As one of the women remarks, they started, not achieved, the Revolution.
The structure of the book is a series of eighty-five very short chapters, each dealing in turn with one of the six characters, as the revolution marches on. This makes it a lot easier to read if you only have a few minutes at a time. The style bowls you along, but I thought there was an overuse of modern (American) idiom that to me sat oddly with the context. I realise that this could just be that I’m used to reading British English, but I struggled with people in the eighteenth century talking about “guys” and “kids” in a non-idiomatic context – it jolted me out of any suspension of disbelief. There was also a fair sprinkling of what is still considered a swear word in British English, to describe the marital relations of the characters. It’s a graphic novel, so some graphic language is necessary. It’s a good read, if not great literature.
There’s a strong feminist thread throughout the novel that plays out in the fate of the three women, one of whom hides dutifully behind her husband while the other two pursue independence of thought and action against all the odds. The Revolutionary Republican Women inspire fear in the men, seen by them as “wild and dangerous”; so it comes as no surprise that in history the counter-revolution brings before anything else their suppression, their power increasingly restricted to that of the courtesan, as the monarchy is restored, followed by Empire. Despite the unshrinking recounting of revolutionary horrors, it is the attitudes of men to women, and the courage of the women in this novel that emerge as the personal driving force of the author. My edition tells me that Marge Piercy has been active in the women’s movement and in political movements, and has lived in Paris. And I can read about Paris till the cows come home.
March 26, 2016
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Perhaps the most common thing every nation in the world shares is its ability to leave people behind when progressive change occurs. Abigail Adams reminded her husband to not forget women when America was being founded, and of course, he did. Women helped in World War I and they still didn’t even have the vote. There are still debates about whether African-American women should put men’s rights before all rights. In fact, that is not doubt true for any minority culture or ethnicity in any country.
So it is should be of no surprise that the French Revolution, which included the famous picture of a bare-breasted victory (and let’s really think about why she is always half nude), neglected the women who were a large part of that revolution.
Piercy’s book chronicles the lives of Paris citizens as they struggle in the days leading up to the Revolution and the days after it. While the majority of the characters she follows are women, there are more than a few men. The book is a rather cynical and somewhat hopeful look at revolution and change. Piercy’s book is worth reading because she covers all walks of life. There is Pauline, a young woman in Paris who has her own small business, a chocolate shop. This isn’t Chocolat, so the emphasis isn’t on the wonderful food and treats that she produces. It is on the politics and how Pauline gets caught up in. Is Revolutionary Paris, revolutionary enough?
And that really is the question.
Most often grand sweeping historical novels that are suppose to focus on the little person, really do not. They might start out that way, but plot and readership interest, always cause said little person to become part of a coterie of upper echelons. It is to Piercy’s credit that while some of her characters cross over, not all of them do. In many ways, it makes her historical fiction far more believable and compelling. While she does focus on the movers and shakers to a degree – both Danton and Robespierre have a role or two – the focus is kept on the smaller players. The everyday people that many readers of such books would have been. It really does feel like the stews of Paris at some points.
September 27, 2012
Well written and very well researched novel about the French Revolution which refreshingly included a couple of characters who are not amoung the usual suspects when reading about the revolution. Besides the well known Danton and Robespeirre and the slightly lesser known Manon Roland and Nicolas Condorcet, we also follow Claire Lacombe and Pauline Leon who founded the first all women's political organisation (the Revolutionary Republican Women) so there's a nice mix of point of views from men and women, moderates and radicals, petty nobles, educated middle class and city poor.
I have wavered between giving this 4 or 5 stars for a couple of days but finally plumped for 4 as the book did have a couple of weaknesses including a slow start (took about 50 pages to get going but once it did it was very hard to put down), some minor but jarring use of modern language and an ending that felt a little tacked on and not entirely in keeping with the rest of the story. However, none of this was enough to seriously annoy and it was an otherwise great read.
This is a wonderfully detailed novel if you want to learn more about the French Revolution in an enjoyable way and while my favourite French Revolution novel is still Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety this one comes in a pretty close second.
Thanks to my GR friend Kim for suggesting this book for our buddy read and French Revolution binge as otherwise I might never have read it :-).
June 30, 2019
This compelling portrayal of the French Revolution, from the perspective of six leading figures, is very accessible. Piercy illuminates their character and motivations and explains historical events succinctly. It is fascinating to see how well-intentioned people went so terribly wrong.
August 2, 2016
I enjoyed this and it certainly makes the events of the French Revolution palpable. I did not love it, however, because the writing seemed to eschew any sense of interpersonal drama and incident.
July 6, 2018
I started this book, read 25 chapters, then stopped. Then, four days ago, I picked it up again and finished the last 60 chapters. Still, I really did enjoy this book because it put some prominent people of the French Revolution in a closer perspective. History puts many people, such as Danton and Robespierre, in a very dark light and we get a very dark point of view in history. However, with this novel, we're able to glimpse a small part of humanity in these people - why they began the revolution, and what they hoped for in this revolution.
The French Revolution was at a very dark time, and it showed some of the lowest depths to where humanity can go. Moreover, this novel records what happened from many interesting facets, and it explains their dark characterizations and beliefs, yet at the same time, it shows their humanity.
I loved how the author is able to balance these characters' psychological profiles and emotions even though they're from various walks of life: characters like Claire, an actress; Danton & Robespierre, both struggling lawyers; Pauline, a chocolatière; Manon, a clandestinely politically active minister's wife who aspires to be the model of Rousseau's ideal woman; and French philosopher and mathematician Nicolas Marquis de Condorcet. It was a wonderful book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about the French Revolution; it is
a great introduction to its important events and its people.
The French Revolution was at a very dark time, and it showed some of the lowest depths to where humanity can go. Moreover, this novel records what happened from many interesting facets, and it explains their dark characterizations and beliefs, yet at the same time, it shows their humanity.
I loved how the author is able to balance these characters' psychological profiles and emotions even though they're from various walks of life: characters like Claire, an actress; Danton & Robespierre, both struggling lawyers; Pauline, a chocolatière; Manon, a clandestinely politically active minister's wife who aspires to be the model of Rousseau's ideal woman; and French philosopher and mathematician Nicolas Marquis de Condorcet. It was a wonderful book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about the French Revolution; it is
a great introduction to its important events and its people.
November 29, 2016
To be honest, I was initially certain that this novel couldn't equal the incandescently brilliant 'A Place of Greater Safety' by Hilary Mantel. This put it at rather a disadvantage, but nonetheless I ended up enjoying it nearly as much as Mantel's masterpiece. Piercy uses six different points of view to show how the French Revolution unfolded, of which three are women. This is where the two novels differed most importantly, in my view. In 'A Place of Greater Safely' I felt very close to Robespierre, Danton, and Camille Desmoulins; the latter was particularly sensitively portrayed. In 'City of Darkness, City of Light' I felt closer to the three women, Manon Roland, Pauline Léon, and Claire Lacombe. Their narratives were beautifully done and truly moving. I've previously read a non-fiction account of key women during the revolution, 'Liberty' by Lucy Moore, but found that much less engaging. (I should mention that 'A Place of Greater Safety' does give time to Théroigne de Méricourt, another fascinating revolutionary woman.)
In my mind, the latter of half of this novel really emerged from the shadow of Mantel's book (which was written some years later!). Piercy's writing style doesn't have the same utterly immersive quality as Mantel's, but neither do more than a handful of other novelists. Mantel is such a fantastic writer that practically anyone else suffers by comparison. 'City of Darkness, City of Light' is nonetheless compelling, very well-paced, and deeply sympathetic. The whirlwind of change unleashed by the revolution is beautifully conveyed. There are Americanisms to be found here and there in the text; Piercy explains her rationale for this the introductory Author's Note. I found them a little disconcerting at first, but they in no way detracted from my overall enjoyment of this novel. And it was deeply enjoyable, with a wonderful sense of momentum and feeling.
Moreover, rarely amongst novels and non-fiction about the French Revolution, it did not end with Robespierre's death. The final chapters, in which the surviving characters made a life amid the chaos of the Directory and the ascension of Napoleon, were particular favourites of mine. They allowed the characters to reflect on the changes of the revolution, without a sense of artificially astute historical perspective. I definitely wouldn't read this novel instead of 'A Place of Greater Safety', if some cruel torturer forced me to only read one French Revolution novel ever again, but both are brilliant. 'City of Darkness, City of Light' brings the period vividly to life, especially the lives of radical women at the time. I highly recommend it.
In my mind, the latter of half of this novel really emerged from the shadow of Mantel's book (which was written some years later!). Piercy's writing style doesn't have the same utterly immersive quality as Mantel's, but neither do more than a handful of other novelists. Mantel is such a fantastic writer that practically anyone else suffers by comparison. 'City of Darkness, City of Light' is nonetheless compelling, very well-paced, and deeply sympathetic. The whirlwind of change unleashed by the revolution is beautifully conveyed. There are Americanisms to be found here and there in the text; Piercy explains her rationale for this the introductory Author's Note. I found them a little disconcerting at first, but they in no way detracted from my overall enjoyment of this novel. And it was deeply enjoyable, with a wonderful sense of momentum and feeling.
Moreover, rarely amongst novels and non-fiction about the French Revolution, it did not end with Robespierre's death. The final chapters, in which the surviving characters made a life amid the chaos of the Directory and the ascension of Napoleon, were particular favourites of mine. They allowed the characters to reflect on the changes of the revolution, without a sense of artificially astute historical perspective. I definitely wouldn't read this novel instead of 'A Place of Greater Safety', if some cruel torturer forced me to only read one French Revolution novel ever again, but both are brilliant. 'City of Darkness, City of Light' brings the period vividly to life, especially the lives of radical women at the time. I highly recommend it.
May 31, 2017
This book was very well written, but the first half dragged for me. In the beginning, I struggled to keep the characters and their backgrounds straight. I put the book down for about a month, and when I had a little more time, to read, I picked it up again. The second half went much more quickly. The author did a fantastic job of fictionalizing some of the French Revolution's more important players.
March 18, 2017
Marge Piercy obviously did a boatload of research for this novel. Unfortunately, that didn't result in a good novel. Although there were only six main characters, it seemed like a lot more, and their lack of interaction or relation to each other was confusing. I wanted to know more about the events leading up to the French Revolution, but I'll try Hilary Mantel to learn what I want to know.
July 15, 2014
brilliant. read it 3 times :)
April 20, 2025
OK, I didn’t really finish this book because it was very very long and a little hard to read. There were so many characters in constant rotation. It got a little confusing and I put it down a couple times and it was hard to pick back up.
While saying all that it was also fascinating because I didn’t know anything about the French Revolution. so I definitely enjoyed it here and there but then once I put it down because I got busy I just couldn’t pick it back up again.
so if you’re gonna read this, just do it, but don’t put it down for a week or so cause then you’ll forget all the characters
While saying all that it was also fascinating because I didn’t know anything about the French Revolution. so I definitely enjoyed it here and there but then once I put it down because I got busy I just couldn’t pick it back up again.
so if you’re gonna read this, just do it, but don’t put it down for a week or so cause then you’ll forget all the characters
March 14, 2024
So impressed by the amount of research that was put into this book. I can’t imagine gathering so much evidence of these peoples lives, assembling every bit of writing tied to their name to create a chronological account of their existence. It all came together so well and flowed incredibly. The ending was perfect. Love it!
January 27, 2016
A breakneck recreation of the momentous events of the French Revolution, expertly told through the eyes of six diverse combatants, ideally chosen women and men who helped shape events from the streets and salons:
Claire - Lacombe, starts out a poor laundress in the southern town of Pamiers, but has dreams of a better life and runs off with a traveling troop of actors, eventually playing the role of Liberty in pro-revolutionary plays, taking to the streets with the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women.
Max - studies to be a lawyer in order to look after his beloved siblings and doves, makes himself be noticed "because of his excellent grades and his essay on virtue". "Sometimes the smell of meat made him sick. It reminded him of blood." This, ironically, is the young Robespierre.
Manon - daughter of a well-to-do Parisian engraver, educated and talented; is not impressed with her first glimpses of the aristocracy that her family look up to, becomes "a Rousseau woman: warm, natural, caring for and educating her child", and through her husband becomes a leading Girondist figure, hoping to curtail the worst excesses of the revolution.
Pauline - Leon, daughter in a family of chocolate retailers, becomes interested in politics when listening to conversation in the pub her father takes her to after her mother dies; hates the aristocracy and becomes the most celebrated of the SRRW.
Nicolas - Marques de Condorcet, mathematician and rationalist, joins the liberal wing of the government, becomes a Girondist and lives his own, personal revolution of complete equality in the home with his talented wife Sophie.
Georges - Danton, goes to Paris to make his fortune as a lawyer, using his charisma and flexibility to spearhead many of the revolutionary successes in Paris and the subsequent war efforts against Austria and Prussia.
The intricate, constantly evolving narrative is skillfully brought to life by Piercy in consecutive chapters devoted to each character, a technique that could have led to a plethora of redundant repetition of events, but rarely does.
The high price and low quality of bread, the proliferation of political pamphlets, the intellectual resonance of Rousseau and Voltaire in the bourgeois salons, the actions both of the politicians in parliament and the mob in the streets, all are given their equal due.
But it's all a bit one paced, one toned; told in short, clipped sentences that all serve the narrative well but deny it any light and shade, despite the title. The intimate domestic scenes and the historical public scenes have the same propulsion, which means it's never dull but also never transcendent.
Still, as a comprehensive history of the revolution, inherently more entertaining than any history book could ever hope to be, it's an excellent achievement.
Claire - Lacombe, starts out a poor laundress in the southern town of Pamiers, but has dreams of a better life and runs off with a traveling troop of actors, eventually playing the role of Liberty in pro-revolutionary plays, taking to the streets with the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women.
Max - studies to be a lawyer in order to look after his beloved siblings and doves, makes himself be noticed "because of his excellent grades and his essay on virtue". "Sometimes the smell of meat made him sick. It reminded him of blood." This, ironically, is the young Robespierre.
Manon - daughter of a well-to-do Parisian engraver, educated and talented; is not impressed with her first glimpses of the aristocracy that her family look up to, becomes "a Rousseau woman: warm, natural, caring for and educating her child", and through her husband becomes a leading Girondist figure, hoping to curtail the worst excesses of the revolution.
Pauline - Leon, daughter in a family of chocolate retailers, becomes interested in politics when listening to conversation in the pub her father takes her to after her mother dies; hates the aristocracy and becomes the most celebrated of the SRRW.
Nicolas - Marques de Condorcet, mathematician and rationalist, joins the liberal wing of the government, becomes a Girondist and lives his own, personal revolution of complete equality in the home with his talented wife Sophie.
Georges - Danton, goes to Paris to make his fortune as a lawyer, using his charisma and flexibility to spearhead many of the revolutionary successes in Paris and the subsequent war efforts against Austria and Prussia.
The intricate, constantly evolving narrative is skillfully brought to life by Piercy in consecutive chapters devoted to each character, a technique that could have led to a plethora of redundant repetition of events, but rarely does.
The high price and low quality of bread, the proliferation of political pamphlets, the intellectual resonance of Rousseau and Voltaire in the bourgeois salons, the actions both of the politicians in parliament and the mob in the streets, all are given their equal due.
But it's all a bit one paced, one toned; told in short, clipped sentences that all serve the narrative well but deny it any light and shade, despite the title. The intimate domestic scenes and the historical public scenes have the same propulsion, which means it's never dull but also never transcendent.
Still, as a comprehensive history of the revolution, inherently more entertaining than any history book could ever hope to be, it's an excellent achievement.
December 22, 2009
This book offers a reader-friendly account of the French Revolution through six men and women who played an active role in it: well known figures like Robespierre, Danton, Mme Roland, Condorcet and some less recognizable ones (unsurprisingly enough women) like the actress Claire Lecombe and the chocolate maker Pauline Leon, who were the leaders of a protofeminist women's group.
It was certainly interesting to learn about the latter ones, as I had hardly ever heard about them. It was equally interesting to delve into the characters of infamous, complicated individuals who changed the course of history and Piercy has to be commented on her effort to represent them, retrace their inner world and their course of action.
Having said that I did not find so rewarding the structure of the book. As it is, it had to be narrated in turns, but somehow the 'episodes' did not always worth the alternation. In addition, some characters were definitely less developed than others. Condorcet for example was by far the least interesting and most one-dimensional. And it's a shame, as his story exemplifies the demise of the Enlightenment ideals as the intellectual backbone of the Revolution. I found Pauline equally one-dimensional, while Piercy's best work lies with Robespierre and Danton in my opinion and secondarily Claire. An aspect that did not come through so well in my opinion is the blending of the historical events with the personal lives of the characters. In several cases it felt too forced. Plus, the narration by the end is forwarded after the fall of the Reign of Terror and as her remaining characters are all in jail, we lose sight of the historical events that shape their lives as they are covered blurry and hastily, taking place in the outside world.
The other level on which this book strikes me as one-dimensional is the kind of sweeping and unquestioning populist overview of the events. In several cases, well known misrepresentations are uttered without another voice to counterbalance their effect, when the plethora of characters could have served as a platform where several accounts and stories would be exposed. It's clear that one of Piercy's main aims is to highlight the wrong turns of the Revolution and the Revolutionaries, their disillusionment and the aftermath of it all, but it's a one note voice that resonates from this book, despite the several ones that she tried to bring to life.
It was certainly interesting to learn about the latter ones, as I had hardly ever heard about them. It was equally interesting to delve into the characters of infamous, complicated individuals who changed the course of history and Piercy has to be commented on her effort to represent them, retrace their inner world and their course of action.
Having said that I did not find so rewarding the structure of the book. As it is, it had to be narrated in turns, but somehow the 'episodes' did not always worth the alternation. In addition, some characters were definitely less developed than others. Condorcet for example was by far the least interesting and most one-dimensional. And it's a shame, as his story exemplifies the demise of the Enlightenment ideals as the intellectual backbone of the Revolution. I found Pauline equally one-dimensional, while Piercy's best work lies with Robespierre and Danton in my opinion and secondarily Claire. An aspect that did not come through so well in my opinion is the blending of the historical events with the personal lives of the characters. In several cases it felt too forced. Plus, the narration by the end is forwarded after the fall of the Reign of Terror and as her remaining characters are all in jail, we lose sight of the historical events that shape their lives as they are covered blurry and hastily, taking place in the outside world.
The other level on which this book strikes me as one-dimensional is the kind of sweeping and unquestioning populist overview of the events. In several cases, well known misrepresentations are uttered without another voice to counterbalance their effect, when the plethora of characters could have served as a platform where several accounts and stories would be exposed. It's clear that one of Piercy's main aims is to highlight the wrong turns of the Revolution and the Revolutionaries, their disillusionment and the aftermath of it all, but it's a one note voice that resonates from this book, despite the several ones that she tried to bring to life.
May 26, 2024
I've wanted to read this book for a long time. Unfortunately it's proved rather disappointing.
The writing style is too removed from the action. Parts of it read like a history textbook rather than a novel. It may be that the author was trying to stuff so much into the book that it all had to be condensed at the expense of the story.
There were good moments, especially a young Robespierre trying to make a speech to the King and Queen and them driving off before he is finished and splattering him with mud from their coach. I couldn't help speculating how much better Sharon Penman or Margaret George would have written that scene.
I just didn't feel like I was there or inside the people's heads.
The writing style is too removed from the action. Parts of it read like a history textbook rather than a novel. It may be that the author was trying to stuff so much into the book that it all had to be condensed at the expense of the story.
There were good moments, especially a young Robespierre trying to make a speech to the King and Queen and them driving off before he is finished and splattering him with mud from their coach. I couldn't help speculating how much better Sharon Penman or Margaret George would have written that scene.
I just didn't feel like I was there or inside the people's heads.
Did Not Finish
October 19, 2024toughed it out for about half of the book's (pretty considerable) length, but i found it to be totally fatiguing - this is, primarily, a cheese-wrapped pill where piercy aims to give you a history lecture that "doesn't feel" like a history lecture. because of its debt to historical accuracy, the prose feels more cautious and measured than in other works of piercy's, and the rapid alternation between characters is difficult considering just how similar a lot of the beats in their individual narratives can get. if you want to learn about the french revolution, but you balk at academic language, this is your book, but i don't think it's mine
March 25, 2008
For an American whose only knowledge of the events leading up to the French Revolution was based on a sketchy version of Louis XV and Marie Antionette, sprinled with a little Les Miz, this was an eye-opener. I love good historical fiction and this was great. One of the few books kept in my permanent lending library and which I'll probably re-read many times as I felt the events sort of slipped up on me (as it did on the noblesse, I'm sure) and so I'll need to revisit it a few times to really grasp it.
January 28, 2008
This book was too much. Too many characters, too many pages, too many intertwining stories that never actually intertwined. I found that I would read one section about one character and by the time that character appeared again, I had forgotten their story. Boring. I should have stopped reading. I am sure there are much better books about the French Revolution.
January 26, 2013
There's nothing like a book about the French Revolution to remind one of how unbelievable it is that humans haven't already exterminated themselves.
The main revolutionary ideas and characters are presented, but separated into chapters that chopped (no pun intended) up the story too much to make it flow. Meh.
The main revolutionary ideas and characters are presented, but separated into chapters that chopped (no pun intended) up the story too much to make it flow. Meh.
July 23, 2011
I read this novel to find out more about the French Revolution in an easy way, instead of reading a history of the period. The novel didn't disappoint in terms of helping me understand the politics of the revolution. I really enjoyed this novel.
November 30, 2011
This rather detailed account of the French Revolution added to my knowledge especially regarding the in-fighting that propelled the Reign of Terror. It was fun to read in conjunction with a trip to Paris. I did find it a bit long and tedious, however.
July 16, 2012
Marge Piercy does a good job of bringing to life this complex historical period through an assortment of key characters. The prose had, for me, a feeling of abruptness, which I suppose comes from the need to deliver a tremendous amount of factual information.
September 30, 2012
The point of historical fiction is to tell the true story from a particular person's perspective. This book doesn't really do that--it rotates around half a dozen people, none of whom are especially interesting, and I just haven't gotten emotionally invested in any of it.
July 23, 2015
A very hard book to write and I, enjoyed might not be the right word, but enjoyed the effort - though more the history than the literary/story aspect apart from Pauline and Claire whom I loved. Love the French Revolution as a historian and seeing humanity being put back into it was fascinating.
April 11, 2019
While the novel certainly gave me a far greater understanding of the French Revolution, it was stylistically boring, with overuse of short, simple sentences and unending detail of the political machinations of competing groups.
December 5, 2020
I really enjoyed this book! I did look up a lot of Wikipedia pages about the history of the French Revolution as I read the book, but it was still riveting. So much I didn’t know about the role of women in the Revolution. Highly recommend.
December 16, 2007
Piercy at her best. Though in my opinion she is very nearly never at less than her best.
April 11, 2008
Really good historical fiction. Makes the French Revolution come to life.
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