A Place of Greater Safety
 First edition | |
| Author | Hilary Mantel |
|---|---|
| Cover artist |
Joseph Boze - "Portrait of Camille Desmoulins" Eugène Delacroix - "Liberty Leading the People" |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Published | 2006 (Viking Press) |
| ISBN | 0-312-42639-9 |
A Place of Greater Safety is a 1992 novel by Hilary Mantel. It concerns the events of the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Maximilien Robespierre from their childhood through the execution of the Dantonists, and also featuring hundreds of other historical figures.
Background
Mantel explains that, where possible, she used the historical figures' own words, from their speeches or writings.[1]
Reception
A Place of Greater Safety won the Sunday Express Book of the Year award.
The New York Times praised Mantel, but not the book, wondering if "more novel and less history might not better suit this author's unmistakable talent."[2] Another reviewer praised the book saying "the dialogue is unfailingly witty, increasingly desperate, and never predictable."[3]
References
- ↑ Mantel, Hilary (2006). A Place of Greater Safety. Macmillan.
- ↑ Olivier Bernier (9 May 1993). "Guillotine Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ↑ Michael Snedeker (16–18 October 2009). "Mantel's French Revolution". CounterPunch. Retrieved 19 May 2012.