The French Revolution is a rich subject for historical fiction, and many authors have tackled it from various perspectives, exploring its political, social, and personal impacts. These novels, with their varied approaches and perspectives, offer readers deep insights into the French Revolution’s complex and far-reaching impact. Here are some notable novels that center on or take place during the French Revolution:
5 Novels About The French Revolution
1. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel is a historical novel set during the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of three of its most prominent leaders: Georges Danton, Maximilien Robespierre, and Camille Desmoulins. The novel covers their rise to power, their political maneuverings, and the eventual downfall that comes with the violent turn of the Revolution during the Reign of Terror.
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
One of the most famous novels about the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris before and during the Revolution. It follows characters like Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a dissolute English lawyer, as they navigate the turbulent times. The novel explores themes of sacrifice, revenge, and resurrection.
3. Children of Saturn by John Neeleman
An epic historical novel of the French Revolution and the men and women who shaped it, Children of Saturn vividly chronicles the dramatic conflict of social unrest that haunts France—and the world—to this day.
4. Little by Edward Carey
Little by Edward Carey is a historical novel that tells the fictionalized life story of Marie Grosholtz, better known to the world as Madame Tussaud, the famous wax sculptor. The novel is set during the turbulent years leading up to and during the French Revolution, providing a vivid, imaginative retelling of how a small, orphaned girl becomes a central figure in one of the most dramatic periods in European history.
5. The Gods Will Have Blood by Anatole France
The Gods Will Have Blood by Anatole France, published in 1912, is a historical novel set during the most violent phase of the French Revolution, known as the Reign of Terror (1793–1794). The novel offers a critical and reflective portrayal of the period, focusing on the destructive nature of fanaticism and revolutionary idealism.
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