Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #598011 in Books
• Published on: 1996-12-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 477 pages

Synopsis
During the French Revolution, Claire escapes poverty by joining a traveling theatrical troupe, Manon becomes involved with the intellectual movement, and Pauline witnesses the torture and executions of common people who riot for bread.

Customer Reviews

worth reading
i've read all Marge piercy's books and while this is not quite the best it's still a real page turner. She knows how to be radical in her treatment of women for instance without being treacly or false good at narrative and really getting inside the heads of her characters, with some lovely poetic turns of phrase. It tells the average reader like me an awful lot about the french revolution as it actually happened that I didn't know in a really quite gripping way.

Worth reading
Being a fan of Marge Piercy I was delighted to find a book of hers I hadn't read. It depicts the events of the French Revolution through the lives of key characters. I didn't enjoy it as much as eg Summer People or Small Changes - I think because her narrative drive and skill at depicting shifts in relationships gets a bit lost in the wide historical sweep across characters who don't know each other. However the role of women in the Revolution in particular is one that was unknown to me and I found that fascinating.

The French Revolution in an exciting way
I was looking for a novel on the French Revolution for a school project when I found "City of Light, City of Darkness" and when I started reading, I simply couldn't put it down. Marge Piercy is excellent at writing, her language is easy to understand and yet she paints the pictures in one's mind of how France looked back then. The historical characters (for all the main characters really existed - look it up and you'll see!) comes to life in a way that really made me think they were like that.
It's easy to see that she has researched quite a lot before writing this book because there are many historical facts in it. I also really liked how she includes the women's role in the revolution, a thing not many has done - and she does it with confidence.
So whether you want a novel to write a project on, wants to read something on the French Revolution, or simply enjoy a great book, I totally recommend buying this.
Oh, and just because I need to say this - her version of Camille Desmoulins is absolutely adorable! <3