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revolution_fr2006-10-01 07:49 pm
trf-chan.livejournal.com) wrote in revolution_fr2006-10-01 07:49 pm
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A Place of Greater Safetly
(In Spanish, Un Lugar de la Seguridad Grande - I have no idea why that amuses me, but somehow it does)
Well, I've finally gotten around to finishing Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety this weekend. Overall, I thought it was quite wonderful, especially compared what is usually offered up in the catagory of French Revolution books - fiction and nonfiction. At least Mantel doesn't think Robespierre was green. ;)
The only thing that irked me was her unecessarily harsh (IMO) treatment of the Duplay family and Philippe Lebas. The whole Babette thing was just completely...O.o;. Saint-Just wasn't too nicely handled either, but that at least had a more understandable basis than with the poor Duplays and Lebas.
That's what irks me about what is written on the FR, honestly. No author seems content to evaluate all personages involved honestly - someone's always got to be The Source of All Evil or That Idiot Who Got in the Way of Everything.
Other than that, though, I thought it was an excellent book. Mantel has stated that she came into it loving Camille and came out of it loving Maxime. I had almost the opposite experience, oddly enough. XD; I still love Maxime, of course, but I'm definitely more interested in Camille now than I was before.
What are everyone else's opinions on the book?
P.S. - For my Speech class (not the team - I decided against doing that the moment I stepped foot in the class), we have to write a speech describing a certain setting. I've decided on revolutionary Paris. We need to hit up at least ten locations. I've already got The Jacobins, the National Convention, Place de la Revolution, Palais Royal, Tuileries, and the Bastille. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places that I should use? Please note that I'd like places that you can find pictures of as they looked at the time (or a description) or that have remained mostly unchanged. Thanks. :)
Well, I've finally gotten around to finishing Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety this weekend. Overall, I thought it was quite wonderful, especially compared what is usually offered up in the catagory of French Revolution books - fiction and nonfiction. At least Mantel doesn't think Robespierre was green. ;)
The only thing that irked me was her unecessarily harsh (IMO) treatment of the Duplay family and Philippe Lebas. The whole Babette thing was just completely...O.o;. Saint-Just wasn't too nicely handled either, but that at least had a more understandable basis than with the poor Duplays and Lebas.
That's what irks me about what is written on the FR, honestly. No author seems content to evaluate all personages involved honestly - someone's always got to be The Source of All Evil or That Idiot Who Got in the Way of Everything.
Other than that, though, I thought it was an excellent book. Mantel has stated that she came into it loving Camille and came out of it loving Maxime. I had almost the opposite experience, oddly enough. XD; I still love Maxime, of course, but I'm definitely more interested in Camille now than I was before.
What are everyone else's opinions on the book?
P.S. - For my Speech class (not the team - I decided against doing that the moment I stepped foot in the class), we have to write a speech describing a certain setting. I've decided on revolutionary Paris. We need to hit up at least ten locations. I've already got The Jacobins, the National Convention, Place de la Revolution, Palais Royal, Tuileries, and the Bastille. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places that I should use? Please note that I'd like places that you can find pictures of as they looked at the time (or a description) or that have remained mostly unchanged. Thanks. :)