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The Glass-Blowers
"Perhaps we shall not see each other again. I will write to you, though, and tell you, as best I can, the story of your family. A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can with that same breath, shatter and destroy it." Faithful to her word, Sophie Duval reveals to her long-lost nephew the tragic story of a family of master craftsmen in eighteenth-century France.
The world of the glass-blowers has its own traditions, it's own language - and its own rules. "If you marry into glass" Pierre Labbe warns his daughter, "you will say goodbye to everything familiar, and enter a closed world." But crashing into this world comes the violence and terror of the French Revolution against which, the family struggles to survive.
The Glass Blowers is a remarkable achievement - an imaginative and exciting reworking of du Maurier's own family history.
The world of the glass-blowers has its own traditions, it's own language - and its own rules. "If you marry into glass" Pierre Labbe warns his daughter, "you will say goodbye to everything familiar, and enter a closed world." But crashing into this world comes the violence and terror of the French Revolution against which, the family struggles to survive.
The Glass Blowers is a remarkable achievement - an imaginative and exciting reworking of du Maurier's own family history.
521 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
332 people are currently reading
5418 people want to read
About the author
Daphne du Maurier
474 books9,993 followersDaphne du Maurier was born on 13 May 1907 at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the middle of three daughters of prominent actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel, née Beaumont. In many ways her life resembles a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich artistic and historical background, her paternal grandfather was author and Punch cartoonist George du Maurier, who created the character of Svengali in the 1894 novel Trilby, and her mother was a maternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer Comyns Beaumont. She and her sisters were indulged as a children and grew up enjoying enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier, also became a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne was a painter.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews
June 3, 2023
"A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can with that same breath, shatter and destroy it."
I tiptoed into the first pages of this novel, fearful that I would be disappointed because historical fiction isn't my usual choice.
The month was June, the year 1844, and eighty-year-old Madame Sophie Duval, née Busson, would come face to face with her past via a chance encounter between her daughter and a long-lost relative whom Madame Duval never imagined would cross their path. What followed was a brilliant reimagining of du Maurier's own family history of master glass blowers in eighteenth-century France.
Not knowing what to expect made this tale all the sweeter, so I will not reveal too much except to say that I felt as if I knew each character intimately, taking part in their tragedies and triumphs. I could almost feel the heat of the wood burning in glass house furnaces and smell the acrid smoke-filled air from muskets firing as France descended into revolution.
The story was intriguing, exciting, and, at times, heartbreaking. I was spellbound!
Silly me. I had nothing to fear. Daphne du Maurier has never let me down.
All the stars for this fabulous read. I never wanted to reach the end.
I tiptoed into the first pages of this novel, fearful that I would be disappointed because historical fiction isn't my usual choice.
The month was June, the year 1844, and eighty-year-old Madame Sophie Duval, née Busson, would come face to face with her past via a chance encounter between her daughter and a long-lost relative whom Madame Duval never imagined would cross their path. What followed was a brilliant reimagining of du Maurier's own family history of master glass blowers in eighteenth-century France.
Not knowing what to expect made this tale all the sweeter, so I will not reveal too much except to say that I felt as if I knew each character intimately, taking part in their tragedies and triumphs. I could almost feel the heat of the wood burning in glass house furnaces and smell the acrid smoke-filled air from muskets firing as France descended into revolution.
The story was intriguing, exciting, and, at times, heartbreaking. I was spellbound!
Silly me. I had nothing to fear. Daphne du Maurier has never let me down.
All the stars for this fabulous read. I never wanted to reach the end.
October 5, 2024
About five years ago I first was introduced to Daphne du Maurier's novels by a friend who loved "Rebecca", since then I have read fourteen of her novels and have fallen in love with her stories and have many more on my "to read" list. When I decided to read her again, out of the blue, I decided on "The Glass -Blowers", not knowing anything about the story in the least. I was happy to find it a kind of companion to my favorite book of hers, "MaryAnne" and both books for me are equal in their sharing my term favorites of all her stories, read thus far. Where "MaryAnne" comes from Daphne's grandfather, George du Maurier's mother's English roots, "The Glass-Blowers" comes from his father's French roots. Both are brilliantly written works of historical fiction, which I think Daphne excels more so than her other stories. There is something so personal and insightful about her ancestors in the time that they lived and Daphne bringing them to life, where you feel for them in all their happiness, misery, faults and the way they lived life. Maybe, they are favorites of mine because of the times they lived are so fascinating to me and I love to read about the past so much more then present day.
If you read this edition which has a foreword, I would recommend you read it after which I generally always do so the story is not spoiled but when I did read her comments, I had to differ in many points. In my notes and highlights section, I pointed a few comments out and commented there, if interested.
Before bringing up the story, I wanted to comment on Daphne's strong women in her female centered stories but with one exception, the unnamed main character in "Rebecca", even though "Rebecca" the character seems quite a force to be reckoned with and Mrs. Danvers too. Her females are not perfect but they can be quite strong and formidable in their own ways and in her family historical fiction account, the females hold their own.
"The Glass-Blowers" story begins before the French Revolution and is about Mathurin and Magdaleine Busson and their family. The political events leading up to and the Revolution are seen through this provincial family and those around them. There are some scenes in Paris that are described but mostly where they live has an effect on all. This story gives you a small idea about how the unrest that comes their way in starvation, fear of troubled mobs coming their way, accusations and guilt without trial and horrific murders of the accused. This story is not all about the Revolution but of a family that lived during those times and it had a huge impact on their lives. Even though Margret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" is very different, I had the same reaction when reading that as this story, in that my eyes were open more to the horrors that war and conflict has an effect on those immediately around it. As the wounded in "Gone with the Wind" were described and pitied, "The Glass-Blowers" scene where the wounded are dying in their house was enough to know both sides suffered and some paid with it in their lives.
The story is written down and told by Sophie Duval to her brother's son who had been told a different version of his father's life. She tells him about her parents and the siblings that needed to live near a forest so that the fuel for the glass works to be created. My favorite character was Magdaleine who was such a strong and loving mother who had a way to see clearly. Robert, the dreamer; Pierre, the peacemaker; Michel, the staunch ideologue; Edme; the radical and Sophie; the glue that tries to keep them together. There is so much to this story about life and how you see it and the different personalities in a family that can cause many troubled relationships and how some events in life will change your life but the basic instinct in your personality will still make you, you. I will leave it at that because saying more might spoil this wonderful read for you and I rather not do that at all.
💞🌸💕💞
If you read this edition which has a foreword, I would recommend you read it after which I generally always do so the story is not spoiled but when I did read her comments, I had to differ in many points. In my notes and highlights section, I pointed a few comments out and commented there, if interested.
Before bringing up the story, I wanted to comment on Daphne's strong women in her female centered stories but with one exception, the unnamed main character in "Rebecca", even though "Rebecca" the character seems quite a force to be reckoned with and Mrs. Danvers too. Her females are not perfect but they can be quite strong and formidable in their own ways and in her family historical fiction account, the females hold their own.
"The Glass-Blowers" story begins before the French Revolution and is about Mathurin and Magdaleine Busson and their family. The political events leading up to and the Revolution are seen through this provincial family and those around them. There are some scenes in Paris that are described but mostly where they live has an effect on all. This story gives you a small idea about how the unrest that comes their way in starvation, fear of troubled mobs coming their way, accusations and guilt without trial and horrific murders of the accused. This story is not all about the Revolution but of a family that lived during those times and it had a huge impact on their lives. Even though Margret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" is very different, I had the same reaction when reading that as this story, in that my eyes were open more to the horrors that war and conflict has an effect on those immediately around it. As the wounded in "Gone with the Wind" were described and pitied, "The Glass-Blowers" scene where the wounded are dying in their house was enough to know both sides suffered and some paid with it in their lives.
The story is written down and told by Sophie Duval to her brother's son who had been told a different version of his father's life. She tells him about her parents and the siblings that needed to live near a forest so that the fuel for the glass works to be created. My favorite character was Magdaleine who was such a strong and loving mother who had a way to see clearly. Robert, the dreamer; Pierre, the peacemaker; Michel, the staunch ideologue; Edme; the radical and Sophie; the glue that tries to keep them together. There is so much to this story about life and how you see it and the different personalities in a family that can cause many troubled relationships and how some events in life will change your life but the basic instinct in your personality will still make you, you. I will leave it at that because saying more might spoil this wonderful read for you and I rather not do that at all.
💞🌸💕💞
February 5, 2025
I had no preconceptions going in so I was surprised to find out that the 'glass blowers' were du Maurier's own ancestors. I was a bit worried about this, as I found Anya Seton's Devil Water (where Seton used some of her own ancestors) a bit of a slog.
But this book was very different. Instead of telling the story through Du Maurier's direct ancestor, Robert, du Maurier used the more sympathetic figure of his sister Sophie. I thought this device would be very artificial, but du Maurier breathed real warmth into it & I found it very hard to put the book down.
This book showed a side of the French Revolution (the effect on the bourgeoisie outside of Paris) that I hadn't seen before. One chapter was particularly brutal,
A fascinating novelisation of some of du Maurier's family history. I can't praise it enough.
But this book was very different. Instead of telling the story through Du Maurier's direct ancestor, Robert, du Maurier used the more sympathetic figure of his sister Sophie. I thought this device would be very artificial, but du Maurier breathed real warmth into it & I found it very hard to put the book down.
This book showed a side of the French Revolution (the effect on the bourgeoisie outside of Paris) that I hadn't seen before. One chapter was particularly brutal,
A fascinating novelisation of some of du Maurier's family history. I can't praise it enough.
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April 11, 2023
When I was 12 or 13 I read a number of Daphne du Maurier’s books and have seen a number of enjoyable films based on her novels since that time. The Glass Blowers is the first I’ve read in quite a while. I have to say it was a bit disappointing.
Daphne du Maurier obviously did a lot of research for this book based on the part of her family that came from France. It seems like a labor of love sort of like doing Ancestry.com before there was such a thing. The historical background is pretty impressive but I wouldn’t say the characters are very developed or that the fairly long story is very gripping. How is it possible to set a novel in the
French Revolution and make it drag?
The narrator (and the woman I assume D du M most identifies with) is fairly colorless. She is the matriarch of her generation of a family of glass artisans who operate a foundry in the countryside in the midst of the revolution. D du M’s direct ancestor is a feckless character who removes his family to England to escape debts and then abandons them. Lucky for Daphne it was the beginning of a line of eminent artists, writers and actors who were very successful. This is not their story.
Daphne du Maurier obviously did a lot of research for this book based on the part of her family that came from France. It seems like a labor of love sort of like doing Ancestry.com before there was such a thing. The historical background is pretty impressive but I wouldn’t say the characters are very developed or that the fairly long story is very gripping. How is it possible to set a novel in the
French Revolution and make it drag?
The narrator (and the woman I assume D du M most identifies with) is fairly colorless. She is the matriarch of her generation of a family of glass artisans who operate a foundry in the countryside in the midst of the revolution. D du M’s direct ancestor is a feckless character who removes his family to England to escape debts and then abandons them. Lucky for Daphne it was the beginning of a line of eminent artists, writers and actors who were very successful. This is not their story.
December 16, 2018
This is not a gloomy Daphne. But I must say it was just as awesome. It is loosely based on the ancestors of the family du Maurier from France as far back as the 18th century. I would say this is a great historical novel back when Queen Marie-Antoinette was loathed by the French citizens when grain prices increased. It is a story about a family of glass blowers and all the politics that affected them like the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror to Napoleon Bonaparte's advancement. While there is a lot of history in this it is also about the family and what they went through together.
The story is the retelling in a letter by Sophie to her older brothers long lost son that has visited from England. Whether he believes her story and what he thinks about his fathers deceit is never unfolded but her journey in telling the story will leave you wowed.
I liked it most bc who would think to write about glass blowers...? (This is a profession?!) It is seeing the world unfold & turn into chaos and fear around them. The story told from the eyes of peasants instead of the usual aristocracy in every other book. VERY ORIGINAL>>>
It is amazing that Maurier could trace her family heritage so far back. Wouldn't we all like to know where we came from and give those ancestors voices? I think that is why places like Mexico's Day of the Dead is important; to respect the past and remember those who have made us and their struggles.
If you like European historical fiction, this being French, I highly recommend the story and author.
The story is the retelling in a letter by Sophie to her older brothers long lost son that has visited from England. Whether he believes her story and what he thinks about his fathers deceit is never unfolded but her journey in telling the story will leave you wowed.
I liked it most bc who would think to write about glass blowers...? (This is a profession?!) It is seeing the world unfold & turn into chaos and fear around them. The story told from the eyes of peasants instead of the usual aristocracy in every other book. VERY ORIGINAL>>>
It is amazing that Maurier could trace her family heritage so far back. Wouldn't we all like to know where we came from and give those ancestors voices? I think that is why places like Mexico's Day of the Dead is important; to respect the past and remember those who have made us and their struggles.
If you like European historical fiction, this being French, I highly recommend the story and author.
January 28, 2013
In The Glass-Blowers, Daphne du Maurier explores her French family background through historical fiction, much as she did for another branch of her family in Mary Anne. In this novel, the stormy backdrop is the French Revolution. Du Maurier’s forbears, the Bussons (du Maurier was later added as an affectation by one of the brothers), were a family of master craftsmen in the art of glassblowing.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Glassblowing, of course, is an apt metaphor for the Revolution itself. “Control is of supreme importance. One false movement and the expanding glass will be shattered . . . There comes this supreme moment to the glass-blower, when he can either breathe life and form into the growing bubble slowly taking shape before his eyes, or shatter it into a thousand fragments.”
Du Maurier chooses to examine the French Revolution from a slightly unusual perspective. The story of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette is peripheral. Nor is this Dickens’ depiction of oppressed Parisian peasants exacting revenge with the guillotine. In The Glass-Blowers, the story takes place primarily outside Paris, in smaller towns and in the countryside. The narrator, Sophie, describes her family’s position in the glass-making business, as well as the revolutionary activities of two of her brothers and a sister. Another brother, Robert (Daphne’s future great-great grandfather), eventually flees to England to escape his creditors, earning the shameful label of émigré, an epithet which carries overtones of treason to the Republic.
The other two brothers become local leaders, enjoying their elevated status in the new Republic. They decide when to loot a chateau or execute or imprison those who seem suspicious to the new regime. They experience their own misfortunes, however, in the general chaos. The depiction of the family’s encounter with the Vendéans is particularly chilling. This violent side note in a country simultaneously torn by revolution and involved in a foreign war doesn’t get as much attention in the era’s history as other events. The Vendéans were an enormous mob of Royalist soldiers, peasants (including women and children), dispossessed aristocracy, and clergy that advanced from the Vendée region against the French Republic. Du Maurier describes how they occupied and looted houses during a stop in Le Mans, by that time desperate and starving, and were then repulsed by the Republican forces, in many cases annihilated down to the last man, woman, and child.
Du Maurier’s viewpoint on all of these events is a personal one, giving an idea of the day-to-day existence of people trying to live what would otherwise be ordinary lives in the midst of tumultuous upheaval. In such a turbulent time, even the lives of ordinary people make compelling novels.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Glassblowing, of course, is an apt metaphor for the Revolution itself. “Control is of supreme importance. One false movement and the expanding glass will be shattered . . . There comes this supreme moment to the glass-blower, when he can either breathe life and form into the growing bubble slowly taking shape before his eyes, or shatter it into a thousand fragments.”
Du Maurier chooses to examine the French Revolution from a slightly unusual perspective. The story of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette is peripheral. Nor is this Dickens’ depiction of oppressed Parisian peasants exacting revenge with the guillotine. In The Glass-Blowers, the story takes place primarily outside Paris, in smaller towns and in the countryside. The narrator, Sophie, describes her family’s position in the glass-making business, as well as the revolutionary activities of two of her brothers and a sister. Another brother, Robert (Daphne’s future great-great grandfather), eventually flees to England to escape his creditors, earning the shameful label of émigré, an epithet which carries overtones of treason to the Republic.
The other two brothers become local leaders, enjoying their elevated status in the new Republic. They decide when to loot a chateau or execute or imprison those who seem suspicious to the new regime. They experience their own misfortunes, however, in the general chaos. The depiction of the family’s encounter with the Vendéans is particularly chilling. This violent side note in a country simultaneously torn by revolution and involved in a foreign war doesn’t get as much attention in the era’s history as other events. The Vendéans were an enormous mob of Royalist soldiers, peasants (including women and children), dispossessed aristocracy, and clergy that advanced from the Vendée region against the French Republic. Du Maurier describes how they occupied and looted houses during a stop in Le Mans, by that time desperate and starving, and were then repulsed by the Republican forces, in many cases annihilated down to the last man, woman, and child.
Du Maurier’s viewpoint on all of these events is a personal one, giving an idea of the day-to-day existence of people trying to live what would otherwise be ordinary lives in the midst of tumultuous upheaval. In such a turbulent time, even the lives of ordinary people make compelling novels.
November 18, 2023
Daphne Du Maurier is one of my most loved authors, so it's rather painful to be giving this particular book such a low rating, especially when I'd had high hopes for it. The Glass-Blowers tells the tale of glass workers during the French Revolution, and although parts were interesting, I just couldn't connect with any of the characters on any level. It was difficult to feel any ounce of emotion for these characters, therefore I felt disconnected from the story the majority of the way through.
Du Maurier is the master of atmospheric writing, and I enjoyed this most in Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, but in this book, there was a severe lack of it. I struggled to feel compelled by this read, and at times, I had to push my way through,so I could move on. I wouldn't say this was worth my time, but I'm happy to say I've read another Du Maurier.
Du Maurier is the master of atmospheric writing, and I enjoyed this most in Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, but in this book, there was a severe lack of it. I struggled to feel compelled by this read, and at times, I had to push my way through,so I could move on. I wouldn't say this was worth my time, but I'm happy to say I've read another Du Maurier.
January 25, 2024
This is one of my favourite du Maurier novels. It charts the mysterious world of glassblowing, describing a French family of glassblowers around the time of the French Revolution. Maybe the novel is so convincing because it is based on the family history of the du Mauriers.
April 29, 2025
Fascinating, though not my favourite Du Maurier.
May 14, 2021
Daphne du Maurier travelled to France to research ancestors who were involved in the glass blowing industry, and was inspired to write this excellent book, which gives an unusual perspective on the times before, and during the French Revolution.
Not only does this book have an exciting plot and great characters, it's also an absorbing history lesson....
Not only does this book have an exciting plot and great characters, it's also an absorbing history lesson....
November 8, 2012
Daphne du Maurier ventured into family history with Mary Anne and she did it again in this work. Whereas Mary Anne is a fictionalised account of the life of her English great-great-grandmother Mary Anne Clarke, the mistress of the Duke of York, this novel touches on the story of du Maurier's French ancestor Robert Busson, a master glass maker who emigrated to England around the time of the French Revolution in order to avoid imprisonment for debt. In England he styled himself "du Maurier" (after his birthplace) to foster his social pretensions within the émigré community.
The narrative is in the style of a memoir, written by Robert's sister Sophie Duval for the benefit of her long-lost nephew - Robert's son - in order for him to understand the true story of his father's family. It focuses in particular on the family's experiences during the French Revolution.
I may well have enjoyed reading this novel much more if I had not so recently read Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety and Marge Piercy's City of Darkness, City of Light, two outstanding novels dealing with the French Revolution. Du Maurier's novel suffers when compared to these works. Part of this is due to the form of the narrative. Sophie Duval recounts the family's involvement with the Revolution as something which occurred many years previously. Her account is therefore a distant memory, rather than a currently lived experience, as is the case for Mantel's and Piercy's characters. This has the effect of distancing the reader from the characters and the events they experience.
Another problem is that the characters are flat and it was hard for me to feel much interest in or concern for their fate. In addition, the narrative lacks the wonderfully descriptive language found in novels such as Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, which du Maurier uses to such great effect to evoke a sense of place. I read about the places the characters lived in and visited without ever feeling like I was right there with them. An exception to this is du Maurier's description of the Vendée uprising in 1793, the horror of which is vividly evoked.
It's not as if there is nothing to admire in the novel. It's interesting to see the French Revolution from the perspective of people living outside Paris, whose involvement in events is somewhat more marginal than that of the characters dealt with in Mantel's and Piercy's novels. And Mantel's prose - even without descriptive language - is elegant and clear. I don't regret reading the novel, but if anyone else had written it, it probably would have been down in 2 star territory.
As always, the reading experience was enhanced by sharing it with my friend Jemidar.
March 9, 2009
"Somehow, we no longer seemed to preach the brotherhood of man"
In this book du Maurier recounts the tale of her forebears, the Busson family of master glass-blowers leading up to and through the French Revolution. Told through the POV of Sophie as she looks back on her life, daughter of master glass-blower Mathurin Busson and his formidable (in a good way) wife Magdaleine and her siblings Robert, Pierre, Michel and Edmé. For Robert, the eldest working his craft in the countryside is not enough and he dreams of greatness in Paris - but unable to manage his spending he always ends up in financial disaster and bankruptcy and he depends on his family to bail him out time and again.
The countryside where the Busson family lives is not greatly affected by the first stirrings of the revolution in the cities, but that soon changes when Michel and Sophie's husband Francois become National Guardsman and find themselves slowly being caught up in the nationalist fervor sweeping the country. At first Sophie is horrified at the behavior of her brother and husband as they join others in sacking the manor houses and churches -
"The people were mad. They had to have a victim. No single one of them was to blame, it was like a fever sweeping them."
Eventually she too finds herself buying into the revolutionary ideals as the madness continues to grow and suspicion and rumor grip the countryside. In the end a new and "stable" government takes control but it is never enough. Eventually Sophie and her family are swept up in the War in the Vendée, a little known but horrific footnote in history (do go to Wik and read up on it). Once The Terror is over the Busson siblings rebuild their lives and eventually things come full circle with the return of Robert - who fled to England as an émigré to avoid the debts of his last business debacle.
While this novel is a bit slower paced at times (although the scenes from the Vendée were downright unputdownable) and might not appeal to all readers, I enjoyed it a great deal. A refreshing change seeing the Revolution from the countryside - major events such as the taking of the Bastille, the Women's March on Versailles and the executions of Louis and Marie were events that happened far away. As maddening as he was in his doomed financial efforts, Robert was great fun and I loved the way the author worked in the "birth" of the family name in England - du Maurier. Definitely recommended for du Maurier fans or those interested in the history of the Revolution.
In this book du Maurier recounts the tale of her forebears, the Busson family of master glass-blowers leading up to and through the French Revolution. Told through the POV of Sophie as she looks back on her life, daughter of master glass-blower Mathurin Busson and his formidable (in a good way) wife Magdaleine and her siblings Robert, Pierre, Michel and Edmé. For Robert, the eldest working his craft in the countryside is not enough and he dreams of greatness in Paris - but unable to manage his spending he always ends up in financial disaster and bankruptcy and he depends on his family to bail him out time and again.
The countryside where the Busson family lives is not greatly affected by the first stirrings of the revolution in the cities, but that soon changes when Michel and Sophie's husband Francois become National Guardsman and find themselves slowly being caught up in the nationalist fervor sweeping the country. At first Sophie is horrified at the behavior of her brother and husband as they join others in sacking the manor houses and churches -
"The people were mad. They had to have a victim. No single one of them was to blame, it was like a fever sweeping them."
Eventually she too finds herself buying into the revolutionary ideals as the madness continues to grow and suspicion and rumor grip the countryside. In the end a new and "stable" government takes control but it is never enough. Eventually Sophie and her family are swept up in the War in the Vendée, a little known but horrific footnote in history (do go to Wik and read up on it). Once The Terror is over the Busson siblings rebuild their lives and eventually things come full circle with the return of Robert - who fled to England as an émigré to avoid the debts of his last business debacle.
While this novel is a bit slower paced at times (although the scenes from the Vendée were downright unputdownable) and might not appeal to all readers, I enjoyed it a great deal. A refreshing change seeing the Revolution from the countryside - major events such as the taking of the Bastille, the Women's March on Versailles and the executions of Louis and Marie were events that happened far away. As maddening as he was in his doomed financial efforts, Robert was great fun and I loved the way the author worked in the "birth" of the family name in England - du Maurier. Definitely recommended for du Maurier fans or those interested in the history of the Revolution.
January 5, 2023
2 ⭐ = Below Average.
I often enjoy DDM's descriptive language and writing style. This was no exception. Sadly, for me, the plot just let this one down. Try as I might, I couldn't engage at all.
I often enjoy DDM's descriptive language and writing style. This was no exception. Sadly, for me, the plot just let this one down. Try as I might, I couldn't engage at all.
February 22, 2010
In The Glass-Blowers, du Maurier reaches into her own historical background, as she did with Mary Anne, to tell a story of a family of glass workers during the French Revolution. Unfortunately, also as with Mary Anne, although she tells an interesting story, she fails to make it emotionally engaging. The characters are often flat, even the narrator, and even the atmosphere and the sense of place, usually a strong point for du Maurier, aren't compelling. The story was just interesting enough for me to finish the book, but I was disappointed overall.
It occurs to me to wonder whether, when writing historical fiction based closely upon research and facts, du Maurier felt so tied to the historical facts that she couldn't fictionalize it enough to make it interesting. Frenchman's Creek is historical fiction, yet not based on historical characters, and it's much better than either The Glass-Blowers or Mary Anne.
It occurs to me to wonder whether, when writing historical fiction based closely upon research and facts, du Maurier felt so tied to the historical facts that she couldn't fictionalize it enough to make it interesting. Frenchman's Creek is historical fiction, yet not based on historical characters, and it's much better than either The Glass-Blowers or Mary Anne.
December 24, 2023
It is a difficult book to place. Is it a novel or memoir, and what is the difference? It is certainly not about glass-blowing, rather it's about the way country folk survived the French revolution and its aftermath; however, it was first published in 1963. Makes it difficult to critique.
There is a first-person narrator and practically a century to describe - an ambitious project, a disappointing structure. The narrator troubled me by remaining opaque; therefore I saw the family through her eyes. I did not get close to anybody, did not worry when they were in danger. With large families there is the difficulty of focus and quite a lot of the time I had to work hard on location: who was living where and who was simply visiting.
That said, I learnt an awful lot about the French revolution which does not broadly speaking differ that much from, say, Russian revolution. And it is awesome to think of du Maurier's research for the book.
There is a first-person narrator and practically a century to describe - an ambitious project, a disappointing structure. The narrator troubled me by remaining opaque; therefore I saw the family through her eyes. I did not get close to anybody, did not worry when they were in danger. With large families there is the difficulty of focus and quite a lot of the time I had to work hard on location: who was living where and who was simply visiting.
That said, I learnt an awful lot about the French revolution which does not broadly speaking differ that much from, say, Russian revolution. And it is awesome to think of du Maurier's research for the book.
October 27, 2024
This novel tells the story of the Bussons, a family of glass blowers, and their trials and tribulations before, during and after the French Revolution. The story is told from the perspective of a woman giving a family history lesson to a long lost nephew.
“A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can, with that same breath, shatter and destroy it. If what I write displeases you, it will not matter. Throw my letters in the fire unread, and keep your illusions. For myself, I have always preferred to know the truth.”
You really can’t go wrong with Daphne du Maurier. That is all.
“A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can, with that same breath, shatter and destroy it. If what I write displeases you, it will not matter. Throw my letters in the fire unread, and keep your illusions. For myself, I have always preferred to know the truth.”
You really can’t go wrong with Daphne du Maurier. That is all.
June 16, 2017
Daphne Du Maurier has two distinct voices as a novelist. One is the gothic, psychological voice of Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, and others. The second is the one she uses for her historical fiction, as in The King's General or Mary Anne. The Glass-Blowers, #8 on the 1963 bestseller list, is in the historical fiction mode. The author was descended from a family of glass-blowers and honors them with her novel.
Some readers are more pleased with the gothic novels but I like both of her genres, especially because in the historical ones I always learn pieces of history I didn't know. This one takes place in several renowned glass-blowing establishments, operated by the Duval family and situated south of Paris. It covers the period of time leading up to the French Revolution through to Napoleon becoming emperor. The political upheaval of those times causes great disturbances for the family including loss of business and division between family members who sided with the Republic and those who were Loyalists to the King.
Though it was sometimes tricky to keep all the family members, locations, and political factions straight, I was never less than captivated by the story. It is full of intrigue, heartbreak, and hardship. As in any family saga, there are heroes and heroines alongside less admirable characters. I loved the ways the family dealt with all the problems and divided views. Several awesome female characters are central to the tale.
Best of all, the novel gave me another side of the Revolution than the one taught in school. It showed the daily and yearly challenges that such political turmoil brought to the livelihoods and history of families, especially families who were intrinsic to the character of the society and nation that was France in the late 18th century.
I finished the book with the realization that my knowledge of the French Revolution and its outcomes is rather thin. I have decided to read A Tale of Two Cities (how have I gone through the majority of my life without reading that?) and Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund, which has lingered on my shelves for years.
April 28, 2021
I'm not gonna lie, it's not my favourite du Maurier.
It took me FOREVER to get into it, but when I did, I just flew through it.
My main problem with this book is basically Robert. He's not the main character, but he's the character every storyline revolves around. Unfortunately Robert is a foul, despicable, annoying and ridiculous fuckup, and I got annoyed with a mere thought of him. You know how sometimes the characters are flawed to the bone and yet you enjoy reading about them? Robert is not a character like that. He's that kind of person who made me sigh and think "what have you done now, arsehole?" every time I saw his name.
What I enjoyed about this book is a story of The French Revolution showed from the perspective of a average person. I never thought much of The Revolution (besides when I was learing about it in school), but this book made me think of it more than I ever did in my entire life. I was fascinated (and repulsed) when I was reading about all the killing and looting and things like that.
Thios book is definitely great piece of writing I just wished I wasn't that much annoyed with stupid Robert.
It took me FOREVER to get into it, but when I did, I just flew through it.
My main problem with this book is basically Robert. He's not the main character, but he's the character every storyline revolves around. Unfortunately Robert is a foul, despicable, annoying and ridiculous fuckup, and I got annoyed with a mere thought of him. You know how sometimes the characters are flawed to the bone and yet you enjoy reading about them? Robert is not a character like that. He's that kind of person who made me sigh and think "what have you done now, arsehole?" every time I saw his name.
What I enjoyed about this book is a story of The French Revolution showed from the perspective of a average person. I never thought much of The Revolution (besides when I was learing about it in school), but this book made me think of it more than I ever did in my entire life. I was fascinated (and repulsed) when I was reading about all the killing and looting and things like that.
Thios book is definitely great piece of writing I just wished I wasn't that much annoyed with stupid Robert.
November 8, 2012
I found this historical fiction based on du Mauriers French ancestors at the time of the French Revolution a flat, bland, albeit well written, recitation of what happened with very little of the personal about it, or any sense of people or place. It was less than engaging, hard to care about the characters and easy to put down. Not one of Du Mauriers better efforts but having said that, even a mediocre du Maurier is better than some other author's best efforts.
Buddy read with Kim :-).
July 22, 2022
This was a much different speed than the other books I've read by Daphne Du Maurier. While interesting, I found it painfully slow. I wanted to like it more than I did given the story's biographical edge, the characters being somewhat based on Daphne Du Maurier's ancestors during the French Revolution.
The story focuses on Sophie Duval and her family as they face the trials that come with war (and the realities of life in the 18th Century). The book has a mellower tone compared to the usual suspenseful themes in Du Maurier's novels though there are sporadic moments here. As someone who doesn't know too much about the French Revolution, it ended up being educational. At the same time, not having much of an interest in this time period made it drag. Nonetheless, I consider Daphne Du Maurier my favorite author so I'm always glad to experience her work.
The story focuses on Sophie Duval and her family as they face the trials that come with war (and the realities of life in the 18th Century). The book has a mellower tone compared to the usual suspenseful themes in Du Maurier's novels though there are sporadic moments here. As someone who doesn't know too much about the French Revolution, it ended up being educational. At the same time, not having much of an interest in this time period made it drag. Nonetheless, I consider Daphne Du Maurier my favorite author so I'm always glad to experience her work.
September 5, 2018
Set in France during the French Revolution, which made for quite an intersting read. Totally different from other Daphne du Maurier I have read, but supposed to be based on her own family history. As the name of the book suggests - they were glass blowers.
April 9, 2024
Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor.
I see and approve of the better, but I follow the worse
The historical fiction how I love the most - big historical events, everyday life, and fascinating, complex characters (real and fictional).
Daphne du Maurier captured compellingly the family of glass-blowers in the time before, during, and after the French Revolution.
I got the picture of the glass-blowing in France in the XVIII century, how people involved in the trade lived then.
I also saw the French Revolution from another point of view (mostly from the countryside) and it was priceless.
And I think, I will remember Robert for a long time. I am not sure I understand him fully, but he was a remarkable character.
October 28, 2021
3.8 maybe? Setting, general storyline, characters were all very well done (Pierre is my favourite, of course), but much of the description of '89 and '93 remained just that - descriptive. I felt the characters' actions and feelings in relation to events could have been explored in more depth, particularly those of the narrator, Sophie. Parts of the book just feel like an impersonal list of dates, with occasional remarks thrown in by the men. It becomes more interesting and personal with the approach of the Vendéans and subsequent events, but I would have liked to hear Sophie express herself more (even just in thought) about the day-to-day effects of political upheaval, the rumours of brigands, or how she felt about the behaviour of Michel and François. Of course, a text written in the first person needn’t necessarily give much insight into the narrator, but that didn’t come across as an intentional choice here.
October 3, 2023
this is three stars more so for enjoyment as opposed to the writing because daphne du maurier is queen and knows better than i 🧎♀️🧎♀️🧎♀️that being said, there were highs and lows to this read. the premise of the book was that these were letters a woman was sending to her nephew detailing their family history; while it indeed does that, showing how her members of her family were affected by the french revolution, it means that she glosses over the moments of such a story that would give it so much more interest. when she marries Francois, their interest in one another is only mentioned in the tiniest of detail. when her child dies, again it is hardly spoken of. these are moments that, to me, seem like they should have been the substance of the story. instead, the pages were filled with names of french historical figures and political history that could have been found in a textbook. other moments of grief are described particularly well i would say; the characters have believable and well-rounded personalities and arcs, and so their deaths do really move you. i think this would have been easier also if i knew any french, since names and places were confusing, but alas, ce la vie, i know none.
unless you’re a real du maurier fan working through the oeuvre, i wouldn’t be too fussed about this one.
unless you’re a real du maurier fan working through the oeuvre, i wouldn’t be too fussed about this one.
July 13, 2016
First published in 1963, The Glass-Blowers is described as a ‘warm, human saga of a family of craftsmen in eighteenth-century France – with the violence and terror of the Revolution as clamouring background to its tragic climax’. As with du Maurier’s Mary Anne, the novel is semi-autobiographical; du Maurier’s glass-blowing ancestors the Bussons, who lived between 1747 and 1845, have been focused upon.
Comparisons with Mary Anne are easy to draw from the very beginning of The Glass-Blowers; the prologue begins, for example, in the following way: ‘One day in the June of 1844 Madame Sophie Duval, nee Busson, eighty years of age and mother of the mayor of Vibraye, a small commune in the departement of Sarthe, rose from her chair in the salon of her property at le Gue de Launay, chose her favourite walking-stick from a stand in the hall, and calling to her dog made her way, as was her custom at this hour of the afternoon every Tuesday, down the short approach drive to the entrance gate’. Our protagonist, Sophie, is reliving her life from its earliest beginnings.
Du Maurier sets the scene of historic France in a sweeping yet full manner; one really gets a feel for the social disruption and political climate which surrounded the Bussons: ‘What a moment to bring a child into the world, that summer of ’93, the first year of the Republic; with the Vendee in revolt, the country at war, the traitorous Girondins endeavouring to bring down the Convention, the patriot Marat to be assassinated by an hysterical girl, and the unhappy ex-Queen Marie Antoinette confined to the Temple and later guillotined for all the misery she had brought upon France’.
As ever, I was struck by the ways in which du Maurier describes her protagonists: ‘She [Sophie] walked briskly, with the quick step of one who did not suffer or perhaps refused to suffer, any of the inconveniences of old age; and her bright blue eyes – the noticeable feature of her otherwise unremarkable face – looked keenly to right and left, pin-pointing signs of negligence on the part of the gardener’. Du Maurier goes on to inform us that the highlight of Sophie’s existence is receiving her weekly letter from her daughter, Zoe – ‘her third child, and the first to survive infancy’ – who lives in Paris. It is in one of these letters that Sophie is introduced to the past of her forebears, through a chance encounter with a man which her daughter had at a dinner party: ‘I asked if he [Robert] had relatives. He said he believed not. They had all been guillotined during the Terror, and the chateau Maurier and the glass-foundries destroyed. He had made no inquiries. It was better not. What was past was past’. Sophie and Zoe consequently meet up with the surprised Robert in Paris, and the history of the Bussons then ensues.
What follows this prologue is an historical novel supposed to have been penned by Sophie Duval, who spends four months ‘covering sheet after sheet of writing-paper in her formal, upright hand’. The main body of the novel begins in 1747. Sophie’s first person perspective is well-realised, and nicely matches the story; as The Glass-Blowers is essentially another of du Maurier’s family sagas, it feels fitting that a member of the Busson clan should act as narrator. Du Maurier busies herself with demonstrating how the family’s fortune improved due to the glass-blowing business, and how it also caused a wealth of problems. One of the main themes of the novel is as follows: ‘A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can with that same breath, shatter and destroy it’.
Whilst The Glass-Blowers has been nicely crafted and is relatively interesting, it feels a little lacklustre in comparison to a lot of du Maurier’s other novels. There is no real spark within it, emotional or otherwise, which made me feel compelled to continue with it. Its characters are largely two-dimensional, and their conversations are flat. It is also not as well plotted as it could have been. Things do happen throughout, but they are not built enough to be believable, and are often unnecessarily baldly stated. It is rather bogged down in details at times, and the plot becomes a little saturated with the exact amount of livres which almost everything the Bussons come across cost. The novel is largely involved with family affairs – marriages, births, deaths, and not much else.
Whilst it is well researched, and the parts about the Revolution are interesting, there is a real lack of emotion in The Glass-Blowers, an element which I personally think is of importance in any novel, historical or otherwise. How else are we as readers supposed to either empathise or identify with the protagonists? I would go as far to say that the novel was even a little dull in places. Whilst The Glass-Blowers is a perfectly good three star read, there is nothing about it which is overly memorable, or which sets it apart from a lot of du Maurier’s other – and, frankly, better – historical fiction.
Comparisons with Mary Anne are easy to draw from the very beginning of The Glass-Blowers; the prologue begins, for example, in the following way: ‘One day in the June of 1844 Madame Sophie Duval, nee Busson, eighty years of age and mother of the mayor of Vibraye, a small commune in the departement of Sarthe, rose from her chair in the salon of her property at le Gue de Launay, chose her favourite walking-stick from a stand in the hall, and calling to her dog made her way, as was her custom at this hour of the afternoon every Tuesday, down the short approach drive to the entrance gate’. Our protagonist, Sophie, is reliving her life from its earliest beginnings.
Du Maurier sets the scene of historic France in a sweeping yet full manner; one really gets a feel for the social disruption and political climate which surrounded the Bussons: ‘What a moment to bring a child into the world, that summer of ’93, the first year of the Republic; with the Vendee in revolt, the country at war, the traitorous Girondins endeavouring to bring down the Convention, the patriot Marat to be assassinated by an hysterical girl, and the unhappy ex-Queen Marie Antoinette confined to the Temple and later guillotined for all the misery she had brought upon France’.
As ever, I was struck by the ways in which du Maurier describes her protagonists: ‘She [Sophie] walked briskly, with the quick step of one who did not suffer or perhaps refused to suffer, any of the inconveniences of old age; and her bright blue eyes – the noticeable feature of her otherwise unremarkable face – looked keenly to right and left, pin-pointing signs of negligence on the part of the gardener’. Du Maurier goes on to inform us that the highlight of Sophie’s existence is receiving her weekly letter from her daughter, Zoe – ‘her third child, and the first to survive infancy’ – who lives in Paris. It is in one of these letters that Sophie is introduced to the past of her forebears, through a chance encounter with a man which her daughter had at a dinner party: ‘I asked if he [Robert] had relatives. He said he believed not. They had all been guillotined during the Terror, and the chateau Maurier and the glass-foundries destroyed. He had made no inquiries. It was better not. What was past was past’. Sophie and Zoe consequently meet up with the surprised Robert in Paris, and the history of the Bussons then ensues.
What follows this prologue is an historical novel supposed to have been penned by Sophie Duval, who spends four months ‘covering sheet after sheet of writing-paper in her formal, upright hand’. The main body of the novel begins in 1747. Sophie’s first person perspective is well-realised, and nicely matches the story; as The Glass-Blowers is essentially another of du Maurier’s family sagas, it feels fitting that a member of the Busson clan should act as narrator. Du Maurier busies herself with demonstrating how the family’s fortune improved due to the glass-blowing business, and how it also caused a wealth of problems. One of the main themes of the novel is as follows: ‘A glass-blower, remember, breathes life into a vessel, giving it shape and form and sometimes beauty; but he can with that same breath, shatter and destroy it’.
Whilst The Glass-Blowers has been nicely crafted and is relatively interesting, it feels a little lacklustre in comparison to a lot of du Maurier’s other novels. There is no real spark within it, emotional or otherwise, which made me feel compelled to continue with it. Its characters are largely two-dimensional, and their conversations are flat. It is also not as well plotted as it could have been. Things do happen throughout, but they are not built enough to be believable, and are often unnecessarily baldly stated. It is rather bogged down in details at times, and the plot becomes a little saturated with the exact amount of livres which almost everything the Bussons come across cost. The novel is largely involved with family affairs – marriages, births, deaths, and not much else.
Whilst it is well researched, and the parts about the Revolution are interesting, there is a real lack of emotion in The Glass-Blowers, an element which I personally think is of importance in any novel, historical or otherwise. How else are we as readers supposed to either empathise or identify with the protagonists? I would go as far to say that the novel was even a little dull in places. Whilst The Glass-Blowers is a perfectly good three star read, there is nothing about it which is overly memorable, or which sets it apart from a lot of du Maurier’s other – and, frankly, better – historical fiction.
January 26, 2020
I love du Maurier's books, most of them are incredible. This one just didn't cut it for me, though, and I think that's a first.
Her other books are mostly suspenseful, creepy, dark, twisted, and this one had none of that - which might be why it wasn't that good. Set during the French Revolution, it centered around a middle-class family who is either well-off or just barely getting by, I could never quite tell which.
It jumps quickly through the years and never really pays much attention to the big names, other than bringing them up a couple times: Robespierre, Marat, Danton... they all get introduced and then drop out of the story until they're executed. I was surprised at how she passes over "big" history events and only mentions them in passing. The kind and queen being beheaded, the revolution leaders being beheaded, the guillotine being introduced as the new executing method, the "updated" calendar... these were only lightly mentioned, and I'm not sure if that made it seem more realistic (because would you write about politics or would you write about the troubles your family was going through?) or if it made it less realistic (because wouldn't you write about things that are startling and probably world-rocking, like the end of a monarchy?) but either way it was a bit on the bland side. It also delves into the more politic side of things, which might be part of why I found my attention wandering - it doesn't spoon-feed you for sure! However, I did find it relaxing to just let the political talk "run over" me, which sounds weird but really I just read it without thinking too much about it. I didn't take my time to try and decipher everything and still felt like I understood a lot of what was going on, so I don't think it's too hard to follow (but that may depend on the person reading).
Definitely there were parts that were scary, disturbing, sad, disgusting, all of that. And there are for sure interesting parts with her family and all the things that happen to them... but it's hard to feel sorry for any one of them when their characters are all pretty flat, 2D characters. Even the main character is a bit on the 2D side, she passes over so much that happens that it doesn't feel as rich, deep, or compelling as du Maurier's better-known books (Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, etc).
I was a bit disappointed with this one, however, on the flipside... it was intriguing to read about the French Revolution from the pov of a working class citizen, Sophie, who is surrounded by/related to revolutionary supporters and fanatics*. It's fascinating and refreshing to see the revolution from a sympathetic (or at least neutral) perspective - most of the books out there are written in defense of the aristocracy and while that's not bad (neither one is a bad pov, in my opinion), it's still nice to have a different look on things. It reminded me a bit of In Search of Honor, where they're all in favor of it, some even obsessively so, and how little by little they see the flaws and successes of the new system, as leaders rise and fall. Very different feel from The Scarlet Pimpernel, and while I love TSP, I also enjoy knowing what it was like for the everyday, "insignificant" French people.
If you'd like a drier, but interesting, historical book that has a biographical feel to it, I would 100% recommend this book. It's an excellent nighttime read if you're looking for something to relax with where you don't have to involve many of your brain cells but still want it to hold your interest. You don't have to think too much about it, but it's still a well-written book, unlike other books people like reading at bedtime (looking at you, YA).
ok I'm done. The end.
-
supporters: Robert and Francoise
fanatics: Michel and Edme
Her other books are mostly suspenseful, creepy, dark, twisted, and this one had none of that - which might be why it wasn't that good. Set during the French Revolution, it centered around a middle-class family who is either well-off or just barely getting by, I could never quite tell which.
It jumps quickly through the years and never really pays much attention to the big names, other than bringing them up a couple times: Robespierre, Marat, Danton... they all get introduced and then drop out of the story until they're executed. I was surprised at how she passes over "big" history events and only mentions them in passing. The kind and queen being beheaded, the revolution leaders being beheaded, the guillotine being introduced as the new executing method, the "updated" calendar... these were only lightly mentioned, and I'm not sure if that made it seem more realistic (because would you write about politics or would you write about the troubles your family was going through?) or if it made it less realistic (because wouldn't you write about things that are startling and probably world-rocking, like the end of a monarchy?) but either way it was a bit on the bland side. It also delves into the more politic side of things, which might be part of why I found my attention wandering - it doesn't spoon-feed you for sure! However, I did find it relaxing to just let the political talk "run over" me, which sounds weird but really I just read it without thinking too much about it. I didn't take my time to try and decipher everything and still felt like I understood a lot of what was going on, so I don't think it's too hard to follow (but that may depend on the person reading).
Definitely there were parts that were scary, disturbing, sad, disgusting, all of that. And there are for sure interesting parts with her family and all the things that happen to them... but it's hard to feel sorry for any one of them when their characters are all pretty flat, 2D characters. Even the main character is a bit on the 2D side, she passes over so much that happens that it doesn't feel as rich, deep, or compelling as du Maurier's better-known books (Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, etc).
I was a bit disappointed with this one, however, on the flipside... it was intriguing to read about the French Revolution from the pov of a working class citizen, Sophie, who is surrounded by/related to revolutionary supporters and fanatics*. It's fascinating and refreshing to see the revolution from a sympathetic (or at least neutral) perspective - most of the books out there are written in defense of the aristocracy and while that's not bad (neither one is a bad pov, in my opinion), it's still nice to have a different look on things. It reminded me a bit of In Search of Honor, where they're all in favor of it, some even obsessively so, and how little by little they see the flaws and successes of the new system, as leaders rise and fall. Very different feel from The Scarlet Pimpernel, and while I love TSP, I also enjoy knowing what it was like for the everyday, "insignificant" French people.
If you'd like a drier, but interesting, historical book that has a biographical feel to it, I would 100% recommend this book. It's an excellent nighttime read if you're looking for something to relax with where you don't have to involve many of your brain cells but still want it to hold your interest. You don't have to think too much about it, but it's still a well-written book, unlike other books people like reading at bedtime (looking at you, YA).
ok I'm done. The end.
-
supporters: Robert and Francoise
fanatics: Michel and Edme
November 29, 2016
I adore novels of the French Revolution and this one takes an relatively unusual perspective, that of the countryside. Although the revolution centred around Paris, where the great political personalities clashed, the monarchy were deposed, and the people rioted, its impact outside the capital is also very interesting. Du Maurier's novel is really a family saga set during the revolution. Although its upheavals impinge significantly upon the family's fortunes, they themselves are in no sense central to it. The differing political viewpoints of the siblings are well-presented, though, as are the roles they take on (National Guard, Émigré, etc).
It took me about a hundred pages to really get into 'The Glass-Blowers', but once I did I read it compulsively. The section about the 'Grand Peur', a period in which rural France was swept with rumours of brigands and disaster, was especially vivid. It highlighted how poor communications were at that time, with unreliable word of mouth all that those outside Paris had to go regarding the status of their government. The all-pervasive fear of chaos seems ironically more powerful as a rumour than when it later becomes a fact, during the revolt of the Vendée and subsequent civil war. The latter is also evoked very powerfully. It is also notable that the Terror is of relative unimportance by comparison, which is another reminder of differing rural and urban experiences. After all, it was the French Revolution, not the Parisian Revolution.
I found the depiction of women in this novel especially striking, and very moving. The deaths in childbirth and the terrible levels of infant mortality are too often swept aside in historical novels. 'The Glass-Blowers' is narrated by a woman, whose mother is depicted as its most steadfast, strong, and wise character. There is little explicit discussion of women's rights, but their importance is made very clear. I came to care about the characters very much. Although the narrator, Sophie, is in some senses the least vivid of her siblings, that is perhaps due to it being her voice trying to tell the truth of the family story. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, both as a moving family drama and as an account of the late 18th century and early 19th in rural France.
It took me about a hundred pages to really get into 'The Glass-Blowers', but once I did I read it compulsively. The section about the 'Grand Peur', a period in which rural France was swept with rumours of brigands and disaster, was especially vivid. It highlighted how poor communications were at that time, with unreliable word of mouth all that those outside Paris had to go regarding the status of their government. The all-pervasive fear of chaos seems ironically more powerful as a rumour than when it later becomes a fact, during the revolt of the Vendée and subsequent civil war. The latter is also evoked very powerfully. It is also notable that the Terror is of relative unimportance by comparison, which is another reminder of differing rural and urban experiences. After all, it was the French Revolution, not the Parisian Revolution.
I found the depiction of women in this novel especially striking, and very moving. The deaths in childbirth and the terrible levels of infant mortality are too often swept aside in historical novels. 'The Glass-Blowers' is narrated by a woman, whose mother is depicted as its most steadfast, strong, and wise character. There is little explicit discussion of women's rights, but their importance is made very clear. I came to care about the characters very much. Although the narrator, Sophie, is in some senses the least vivid of her siblings, that is perhaps due to it being her voice trying to tell the truth of the family story. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, both as a moving family drama and as an account of the late 18th century and early 19th in rural France.
February 6, 2013
Du Maurier writes this novel about her French ancestors. She descended from a family of master craftsmen in the art of glass blowing. The story is told by one of the children as she approaches the end of her life. This character writes the family history for a part of the family that had been separated and was unaware of the family drama. Set before, during and after the years of the French Revolution, du Maurier tells the story from the viewpoint of this French woman who was not a fanatic Revolutionary as many of that day were. The narrator was more thoughtful and measured in her response to the events of the day, but even so was caught up at times in the rhetoric and passion of the movement.
It begins with the story of the parents who were successful in establishing themselves with a stellar reputation in the glass-blowing craft in rural France. The mother is a crucial part of the success but the father is so well known and respected in the craft that he even makes a piece for the King and keeps a piece to be kept within the family and handed down to future generations. Some of the children carry on the tradition but the times change as does the mindset of family members as to what they desire and how to carry forth their family talents.
What was most interesting to me was that I had just finished reading a biography of du Maurier which noted why she wrote this novel and gave some insight as to her writing style and influences on that style which, I think, made this read even more interesting. This is another HF that gave me new insight into a most interesting historical time period.
It begins with the story of the parents who were successful in establishing themselves with a stellar reputation in the glass-blowing craft in rural France. The mother is a crucial part of the success but the father is so well known and respected in the craft that he even makes a piece for the King and keeps a piece to be kept within the family and handed down to future generations. Some of the children carry on the tradition but the times change as does the mindset of family members as to what they desire and how to carry forth their family talents.
What was most interesting to me was that I had just finished reading a biography of du Maurier which noted why she wrote this novel and gave some insight as to her writing style and influences on that style which, I think, made this read even more interesting. This is another HF that gave me new insight into a most interesting historical time period.
May 11, 2020
Forse meno potente della "Casa sull'estuario" ma la Du Maurier mi piace sempre di più man mano che la leggo, anche se per i casi della vita non ho mai letto il suo celeberrimo "Rebecca" né visto il film (non mi piacciono né Olivier né la Fontaine, e sì che è di Hitchcock).
Con perfetta naturalezza la scrittrice riesce a restituire in modo creativo una storia privata, quella della sua famiglia d'origine, intrecciandola con le convulsioni rivoluzionarie e con una lucida capacità introspettiva.
A volte si ha l'impressione che sia più ottocentesca che novecentesca, e forse chissà, lei stessa si sarebbe sentita più a suo agio in un altro secolo.
Con perfetta naturalezza la scrittrice riesce a restituire in modo creativo una storia privata, quella della sua famiglia d'origine, intrecciandola con le convulsioni rivoluzionarie e con una lucida capacità introspettiva.
A volte si ha l'impressione che sia più ottocentesca che novecentesca, e forse chissà, lei stessa si sarebbe sentita più a suo agio in un altro secolo.
dnf
June 12, 2025about time to give up methinks. couldn’t be bothered to give a gaf about the french revolution here. if sophie and co had run into mary wollstonecraft i would have been hooting and hollering but there was nary a sighting 💔
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