City of Darkness, City of Light - Hardcover

Piercy, Marge

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 044991268X ISBN 13: 9780449912683

Publisher: Fawcett, 1996

Synopsis

Robespierre and Danton. These are the names that have come down to us as the architects of the French Revolution. Yet there is another story of that glorious, bloody movement that still lies buried: the courageous women who sparked the revolution by taking to the streets. Now, in her most splendid, thought-provoking novel yet, Marge Piercy brings to vibrant life three of the women who played prominent roles in the most tumultuous turning point in European history, and tells the intimate stories of the men whose names we know so well.
Claire Lacombe escapes the grinding poverty of Pamiers by joining a traveling theatrical troupe as an actress. Defiantly independent, strikingly beautiful, she will become a symbol to many as she tests her theory: if men can make things happen, perhaps women can too. . . . Manon Philipon, a jeweler's daughter, worships Rousseau and the life of the mind. When she marries Jean Roland, a minor provincial bureaucrat, she finds she has a talent for politics--albeit as the ghostwriter of her husband's speeches, and the hostess of his salon. . . . Pauline Léon, owner of a chocolate shop in Paris, witnesses the torture and executions of common people who riot for bread. As the revolution gathers momentum, Pauline is certain of one thing: the women must apply the pressure, or their male colleagues will let them starve. And so the Revolutionary Republican Women are
born. . . .
And while the women make their voices heard in every district, the men sit in makeshift assemblies, willing the revolution into being through infighting and intrigue. The incorruptible Maximilien Robespierre, the earthy and opportunistic Georges Danton, and the intellectual Nicholas Condorcet all vie for power as Paris whips itself into a frenzy. History has recorded their political legacies, but in City of Darkness, City of Light Marge Piercy reveals the innermost thoughts and feelings of these three men, their insecurities and vulnerabilities, the way they loved and sometimes lost what was most precious to them.
The women's march on Versailles. The haggling of the Committee for Public Safety. The overarching reach of the Terror. All the events of the revolution explode with the urgency of today's headlines, as Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Marat, Tom Paine, Camille Desmoulins, Olympe de Gouges, and many other legendary figures play their parts on the great stage of history. Marge Piercy has done nothing less than capture the entire sweep of the French Revolution, while opening to us the minds and hearts of six people who changed the world, lived their ideals--and were prepared to die for them. Filled with the philosophy, politics, and dreams of these extraordinary women and men, City of Darkenss, City of Light is Marge Piercy's masterpiece.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

An awkward and agenda-heavy novel, the second this season on the subject of the French Revolution (see Tanith Lee, above). In an author's note, Piercy (The Longings of Women, 1994, etc.), a self-described woman of the left and feminist, declares that she wanted to write about the Revolution and a ``society in crisis''--18th-century France--that might ``illuminate our own situation.'' While the rich in the US may be getting richer and the poor more desperate, however, the US still isn't Royalist France, so the comparisons are less than persuasive. Still, the stories Piercy's six characters--three of them women--tell are vivid, if marred by clich‚s and colloquialisms (``They're guys just like in the neighborhood''). The narrators, all based on prominent historical figures, include ``Max'' Robespierre, the ascetic absolutist who created the Reign of Terror; Georges Danton, the ebullient orator; Nicholas Condorcet, an intellectual inspired by the example of the American Revolution; Claire Lacombe, an actress and activist; Pauline L‚on, a chocolate-maker who organized the women; and Manon Roland, whose famous last words were, ``Ah, liberty, what crimes are committed in your name.'' Alternate chapters describe the characters' early lives and their revolutionary roles. Max, who heard his mother die in childbirth, resolved never to have children; Claire ran away from home to escape becoming a laundress like her own mother; Pauline, who grew up poor, married an affluent army officer; Nicholas was an aristocrat who broke with his class; Manon used her intellectual talents to further her husband's career; and Georges wanted to retire to his native province and raise a family. All six witness or participate in events like the storming of the Bastille. But as the ``Revolution begins to eat its children,'' they are caught up in the violence. Only Claire and Pauline survive in a France that is altered, somewhat improved, but still flawed. Dickens did it better. (Quality Paperback Book club featured alternate selection) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Depicting the experiences of three brave women, Piercy (Gone to Soldiers) explores the human reality of the French Revolution, bringing to life the immense role women played in bringing down the monarchy. Claire Lacombe escapes the grinding poverty of her youth by becoming an actress in a traveling troupe. Beautiful and filled with the determination that can be forged by enduring hardship, she becomes an inspiring symbol as she dares to participate in pivotal events. Manon Philipon, a jeweler's daughter, idolizes Rousseau and the life of the mind. Marrying an austere government bureaucrat, she learns that she has an innate grasp of politics. Pauline Leon, the owner of a chocolate shop, is galvanized when she witnesses the executions of poor people rioting for bread. Their three stories are deftly braided with the lives of three men?the incorruptible Robespierre, the opportunistic Danton and Nicolas Caritat, an academician trying to walk the high wire between old and new. Men may be necessary to drive the plot, but women are its engine. It is women who take to the streets looking for "justice, bread and freedom," and who win concessions on issues like divorce and inheritance rights. Piercy skillfully juxtaposes the political debates, painfully slow reforms and bloody confrontations against the ironies and absurdities of everyday life. Since the novel offers multiple perspectives, events sometimes overlap and readers must pay close attention to the dates listed with chapter headings. This is a minor obstacle, however, in a novel that adds fresh, powerfully grounding perspective to accepted historical fact. QPB featured alternate.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 044991268X
• ISBN 13: 9780449912683
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 477