Upcoming Book on Augustin Robespierre

[maelicia.livejournal.com]

For those who can read French (or Italian, since the original was written in Italian), there's a new book coming out (according to Amazon) on January 14 2010: a biography (!) on Augustin Robespierre, written by Sergio Luzzatto (who also wrote Mémoire de la Terreur: vieux montagnards et jeunes républicains au XIXe siècle, which I recommend if you can read French).


Bonbon Robespierre, la Terreur à visage humain


(Hasty) translation of the summary:

For everybody, the name of "Robespierre" is obviously associated with Maximilien Robespierre, with the French Revolution, jacobinism and the Terror. But Robespierre is also the name of his young brother Augustin, "Bonbon" for his close ones, a figure who is rarely mentioned in history books, except when it comes to the date of 28 July 1794, when the two brothers were condemned to death.

Augustin, however, played a significant role during the Revolution. Also a man of law, militant jacobin, deputy of the Montagne, Bonbon was first of all a man with practical experience, who travelled through Revolutionary France from North to South.

No doubt, by facing Terror directly, he understood that revolutionary violence needed to cease in order to preserve the achievements of the Revolution.

But, if he was convinced that the Revolution needed to come to an end to be preserved, if he dared to express some opposition to Maximilien, he showed, in the end, an exemplary courage in asking to be associated to his brother in the supplice of the scaffold.



Sorry for the bad translation: it's 1am and I should be in bed. -_-

Comments

[estellacat.livejournal.com]

Awwww. This is literally the first biography of Augustin... ever. At least I believe so. *squee* I need to read this. And his other book. (When will I ever have time? D:)

Also, this is one of the only portraits of Augustin I've seen that really resembles his siblings. I don't know if that makes it more accurate or not, but it's still interesting to note.

(And I even have an icon for the occasion. XD)

[eleonored.livejournal.com]

But it is not a portrait of Augustin! this is a portrait of Maximilien, painted by Boilly - when he still lived at Arras - before he went to Paris to study painting professionally, - and Augustin came home to Arras when Boilliy was in Paris.

Here is a portrait of Augustin - from the exhibition at Hotel de Ville of Arras at may 2008:

(http://www.ljplus.ru/img4/e/l/eleonored/Augustine_Arras.jpg)

[estellacat.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked familiar. Still, it does look different enough from the other portraits of Maximilien to be confusing. Probably because Boilly was still an amateur, I guess.

Nevertheless, even between that portrait and others of Augustin, his nose seems to change sizes rather radically...

[maelicia.livejournal.com]

It may be that the two brothers looked very similar -- exactly like how I believe Charlotte (the version of her portrait in colour that was in Arras too) looked a lot like Maximilien -- because I keep on confusing them on these portraits: I could see Augustin looking like the one above, on the cover, and I could see Maximilien looking like the one said to be of Augustin!

[missweirdness.livejournal.com]

He's interesting to me, since he's always being shadowed by Maximilien xD I think i ordered one book on him..hmm..I kind of randomly order books like the One Robespierre book by J.M Thompson, which is HUGE =/ it hardly fitted in my mail box. I have a lot to read =(

still gotta finish my book on teh Commune =( but i doubt i can in time with xmas coming up! GEEZ and then playing ff6..and working. When do i have the time?

[trf-chan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you for the information on this! It's fantastic that there will finally be a biography about Augustin. :D Someday my French will be sufficient enough to read it...someday. D: *shakes fist*

[lacommunarde.livejournal.com]

Do you know if it will be available from amazon.com too or just amazon.fr? For some odd reason, they are not one site at all and my login only works for the .com one of them.

[maelicia.livejournal.com]

Hm. I think they're not the same site, precisely. :( I know the American one is connected to the Canadian one, but I don't know for the French. I know that I've looked up in their conditions, etc., once (but it was long ago and I can't really remember) and I think they don't do shipping overseas. Although, perhaps. D: That would need more investigation. -_-

[misatheredpanda.livejournal.com]

Amazon.fr does ship overseas, I've done it... it's just quite expensive. :/

[bettylabamba.livejournal.com]

Well, it's about time Augustin got his own book. Awesome!

[cotemle.livejournal.com]

Charlotte Robespierre's Memoirs : “ Augustin était grand, bien fait, et avait une figure pleine de noblesse et de beauté. ”