A Place of Greater Safety

"It’s a wonderful bird’s eye view of the French Revolution, which has been the birthplace of so much in modern life. It zeroes in on the lives and inner feelings of the leading participants, in particular the lives of Maximilien Robespierre and George-Jacques Danton. I own to a strong interest in this period, because I wrote a nonfiction book, a historical biography entitled Danton: Giant of the French Revolution , which has come out since. “I think I learn more about what has really gone on from fiction than from straight history” So we have Robespierre, who is a bit of a cold fish, a methodical ideologue who is extremely difficult to sympathise with—at least in my view, although much of the French left still does sympathise with him and his role in the Revolution—and then you have Danton, a rowdy giant of a man with a big heart and a big voice. His voice carried him into the Revolution. When people listened to Danton they were listening to the voice of the Revolution. He was not an ideologue at all. He was a practical man. As he explained it himself, how he got involved in the Revolution: “I saw a huge wave passing by, and I jumped on it.” Yes. Mantel’s book is also very good on the riots that took place during the Revolution, the food queues, the incredible hardships of the people, the ordeal faced by the population. Mantel has a special intuitive talent for seeking out what makes people do what they do. Exactly. In particular, Danton’s first wife—who died in childbirth—and his second wife, who was a 16-year-old at the time. That’s one of the most interesting parts."

"One vast novel I can wholly recommend is Hilary Mantel’s A Place of Greater Safety (870pp), her doorstop work of historical fiction about the French Revolution. It’s a remarkable work, deeply steeped in history and the politics of the era, but both immersive and evocative. It follows Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Maximilien Robespierre from childhood, through the drama of the revolution and the political morass that follows, until the bloody dissolution of their alliance. Through the interweaving of their intellectual, familial and sexual pursuits, Mantel paints fully realised portraits of these three brilliant, complicated men (and a huge supporting cast). In the introductory note, Mantel writes: “I have tried to write a novel that gives the reader scope to change opinions, change sympathies: a book that one can think and live inside.” She has succeeded entirely. I still dream about this book. And – briefly – one more, if you’ll allow me: Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch , which won her a Pulitzer, is another mammoth contemporary novel I can personally recommend. It’s a sensational, sprawling book, in the Dickensian mould: full of rough diamonds, drama and terrible hardships. It’s well worth your time. —Cal Flyn, Deputy Editor"