A Place of Greater Safety

It might be a cliche to say that Hilary Mantel brings historical figures back to life, but I can't put it otherwise. This is an astonishing book that takes the reader into the lives of leaders in the French Revolution. Even as we know how their stories will end - they will lead the revolution and then be killed by it - Mantel manages to maintain suspense. I found myself thinking about this book long after I finished it - I began to see parallels everywhere for the ideas, arguments, and events that surrounded Demoulins and Danton.

Hilary Mantel's work… show more.

I am a big historical fiction fan and, in recent years, have discovered the work of Hilary Mantel. This book focuses on The French Revolution and the drama around it. It is an epic tale in itself, and Mantel brings the frontrunners of the political upheavals – Danton, Robespierre, and Desmoulins - to the fore in a very human manner. 

Despite the darkness of that time, there are threads of humour to be found in the writing, much of which made me chuckle aloud.

The sense of atmosphere, of place, of people, it was just perfect. I didn’t want to… show more.

I loved this book because of its fantastic use of point of view. At times, it brought me right into the heads of the characters. Then, it zoomed out to the perspective of a news reporter. And back again.

This gave historical events of 200+ years ago an immediacy that, at times, made it hard to read. After all, I was experiencing the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

Even though I knew how things were going to end for the characters, I kept hoping it would turn out differently. The final chapters are unsentimental but heart-wrenching.

A compelling historical fiction with the background of the French Revolution. The book describes the three main figures from the outside province to Paris who made the agitated and bloody history. Camille was related to the capture of Bastille; Danton made the execution of Louis XVI and Robespierre—the Terror. They enjoyed the happiness of power, but also paid a heavy price for it. We can see how humanity was lost in the turbulent revolutionary storm.