Les Miserables deals with later revolutions in France, not THE revolution on 1789. 1789 is mentioned(hugely), but novels deals with revolution in 1832.Quote:
Originally Posted by kiki1982
1793 is excellent advice.
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Les Miserables deals with later revolutions in France, not THE revolution on 1789. 1789 is mentioned(hugely), but novels deals with revolution in 1832.Quote:
Originally Posted by kiki1982
1793 is excellent advice.
Only the last part of Les Misérables takes place during the uprisings of 1832. The rest takes place from the turn of the century to 1832.Quote:
Originally Posted by bazarov
The French revolution went on in different stages (as all revolutions do). It did not start or stop with the 14th of July 1789 when the Bastille was stormed. In the 4 years after there was a lot of change which ended in the decapitation of Louis XVI in 1793. The brief Reign of Terror of Robespîerre took place and after that there was a very pieceful period of the Directory after which Napoleon gained power with the result of Waterloo we know.
Although the republican phase of the revolution only took place until Napoleon decided to proclaim himself emperor, the restoration did not start until he was out of the way in 1815. And Napoleon determined a lot that is still in place in France and the countries he (briefly) governed. The civil rights or code civil of the states France, Belgium and the Netherlands for example are still largely based on the rules Napoleon implemented. Also the practice of civil marriage before church wedding results from Napoleon. So, although, the man was not so much part of the republican revolution of 1789, he is still part of the big phase in French history the Revolution. That is at least how we in school learned the phase The French Revolution: starting in 1789 and ending in 1815. One can kick the king out, but one needs legislation, and that is what the rest lacked...
The restoration that started in 1815 after Napoleon had been conquered by Wellington brought kings to power for a brief period until the French had done with it and kicked them out with another revolution in Paris, as told in Les Misérables in the last part.
Les Misérables, for me, plays with all that in the background. With all the phases of the revolution going on and the misérables being part of that despite themselves.
Story doesn't take place in time of THE revolution, only Hugo's ideas and opinion how really big influence and importance for later history of whole Europe revolution it has. I agree with Hugo, but I don't believe that was the question of this thread :) Robespierre or Danton are not characters of Les Miserables; after all.
Flaubert's "L'Education sentimentale" uses the 1848 revolution as a pivotal event.
Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser - mainly about the Queen but is a really well marked and accurate account of events and what led up to them. More fact and less fiction like the coined phrase " Let them eat cake" which is fiction.
It depends how explicitly you want the text to be about the French Revolution and whether you're willing to look outside of prose. Personally I think some of William Blake's poetry is amazing as a response to the French Revolution (also amazing for its own sake).
I probably wouldn't recommend his poem actually called 'The French Revolution' but would go more for his Lambeth Prophecies.
read Dumas' Marie Antoinette Romances. These include The Memoires of a Physician, The Queen's Necklace, Ange Pitou, Comtesse de Charney, Chevalier de Maisson Rouge. These should be read in the order listed and consist of 11 volumes. Afterward, you can read Carlyle's The French Revolution. Dumas books are filled with fact interwoven with fiction. The Count of Monte Cristo or Les Miserables, are good books, but take place much after the revolution.
But do be careful with Dumas, because he tends to be very liberal with historic fact... People can feature that were just interesting, but were not supposed to be there until in fact 20 years after the times he writes about... As long as you get an annotated version it shouldn't be a problem, or if you do enough research on it. But just don't take Dumas for real in detail. He is a great author, though, for the general atmosphere of an era and the big lines.Quote:
Originally Posted by dfloyd
Read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas! It begins shortly after the Napoleonic Wars have ended and it's an awesome tale!
Though I've not read it, Aime Cesaire's historical piece Toussaint L'Ouverture might be fitting to provide a different perspective on the time period.
Rafael Sabatini also wrote Scaramouche the Kingmaker and The Lost King set in the time period.
Hey Stella, obviously I totally recommend A Tale of Two Cities, it is my favorite novel of all time.
Um, not really French Revolution, but I would say that you should read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. That might be of interest to you as well.
Hello Stella,
Edmund Burke responded to the French Revolution with his classic defence of the ancien regime, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) and that prompted Thomas Paine to publish his attack on Burke and defence of liberalism, The Rights of Man (1791). Reading those two political manifestoes together is fascinating because the authors were alive at the time and responding to events. Even the different styles of the authors (Burke is grandiloquent, Paine is democratic) reminds us of the clash of ideas underpinning the Revolution. They're not too long Stella, but essential reading for anyone interested in that period.
Consider -- The Only Son by Stephane Audeguy and Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine DeLors, both set during the Revolution and, heck, The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne, that's set 1802.