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The Journey of Martin Nadaud: A Life and Turbulent Times
An exceptional work of miniaturist history, The Journey of Martin Nadaud reconstructs the experiences of an ordinary man who rose to meet the challenges posed by extraordinary times. Through the life of a little known French political figure, Gillian Tindall recreates the world of France's master stone masons-builders of the Pantheon and the Louvre-and brings to life the turbulent atmospheres of Paris and London during the19th century.
Born into a poor family in the rocky heart of France, tramping hundreds of miles to Paris to find work at age 14, Martin Nadaud became a stone mason, a revolutionary, and a Member of Parliament. After the failure of the 1848 Revolution, he was forced into long and lonely exile in England. Nadaud found work on the building sites of Victorian London and eventually, under an assumed name, became a schoolmaster in Wimbeldon. He made his final triumphant return to his homeland in 1870, as France sat poised on the brink of humiliation, bloodshed, and rebirth.
Publicly, his was a life finally crowned with success. But on a private level Nadaud suffered griefs and losses would leave lasting marks on the man. Examining family letters and personal papers that have lain unread for the last hundred years, Gillian Tindall has constructed a moving and compelling portrait of a working man and his colorful times.
Born into a poor family in the rocky heart of France, tramping hundreds of miles to Paris to find work at age 14, Martin Nadaud became a stone mason, a revolutionary, and a Member of Parliament. After the failure of the 1848 Revolution, he was forced into long and lonely exile in England. Nadaud found work on the building sites of Victorian London and eventually, under an assumed name, became a schoolmaster in Wimbeldon. He made his final triumphant return to his homeland in 1870, as France sat poised on the brink of humiliation, bloodshed, and rebirth.
Publicly, his was a life finally crowned with success. But on a private level Nadaud suffered griefs and losses would leave lasting marks on the man. Examining family letters and personal papers that have lain unread for the last hundred years, Gillian Tindall has constructed a moving and compelling portrait of a working man and his colorful times.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Gillian Tindall
59 books34 followersGillian Tindall began her career as a prize-winning novelist. She has continued to publish fiction but has also staked out an impressive territory in idiosyncratic non-fiction that is brilliantly evocative of place.
Her The Fields Beneath: The History of One London Village which first appeared thirty years ago, has rarely been out of print; nor has Celestine: Voices from a French Village, published in the mid 1990s and translated into several languages, for which she was decorated by the French government.
Well known for the quality of her writing and the meticulous nature of her research, Gillian is a master of miniaturist history. She lives with her husband in London.
Her The Fields Beneath: The History of One London Village which first appeared thirty years ago, has rarely been out of print; nor has Celestine: Voices from a French Village, published in the mid 1990s and translated into several languages, for which she was decorated by the French government.
Well known for the quality of her writing and the meticulous nature of her research, Gillian is a master of miniaturist history. She lives with her husband in London.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 14, 2020
Marvellous! Fascinating story of a 19th century stonemason from Creuse in central France, self-educated, who becomes a Depute in the French parliament before seeking exile in England after the 1948 revolution. He transforms himself into a teacher of French under an assumed name before returning eventually to France and a role as a Prefet.
Tindall has pieced together a fascinating account of his life and times using previously unpublished material which tells us so much about working-class life in that period both in France and in England, contrasting the advances in the two countries and what drives them.
I was sad to finish this absorbing book and felt that I had come to know Nadaud as a person, and the world he lived in.
Tindall has pieced together a fascinating account of his life and times using previously unpublished material which tells us so much about working-class life in that period both in France and in England, contrasting the advances in the two countries and what drives them.
I was sad to finish this absorbing book and felt that I had come to know Nadaud as a person, and the world he lived in.
October 2, 2021
Wonderful writing and very thoroughly researched.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews