Recent reading
Jul. 10th, 2023 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
troisoiseauxFinished The Fall of Robespierre: 24 Hours in Revolutionary Paris by Colin Jones, historical nonfiction about the events of 9 Thermidor/July 27, 1794. In a post a few years ago, I had lamented a Goldilocks-like inability to find nonfiction about either the French or Russian Revolutions with a level of detail/pacing that I found just right— and, hey, I found it! This book was about 400 pages of historical narrative, 50 pages of additional analysis, and 150 pages of bibliographical endnotes.
The early chapters are somewhat broader in focus, using general details (e.g., the 5 am opening of Paris' gates to farmers) or specific ones (recorded births and deaths at 3 am on 9 Thermidor) to talk about life, policies, administrative structure, etc., in Revolutionary France. Jones also sets up the pins, as it were, by taking stock of the rumors that had pushed everyone to the edge: Robespierre and his allies were convinced of a foreign-backed plot to overthrow him; his opponents were convinced that Robespierre was planning another political purge. Things really kicked into gear at about noon, when one deputy to the National Convention, Jean-Lambert Tallien, interrupts a speechifying Saint-Just to demand that Robespierre be arrested as a tyrant. This proves to be a highly popular suggestion! Chaos ensues!
Going into this, I was familiar with the broad timeline of the day— Robespierre's arrest at the Convention, escape to the Hôtel de Ville, and ultimately recapture— but I hadn't realized exactly how a. spontaneous and b. chaotic it all was?? On point a., Jones argues that there isn't evidence to support either of the rumored conspiracies; Tallien's denunciation of Robespierre took everyone but a few like-minded deputies by surprise but happened, conveniently, right as Robespierre's opponents on the Committee of Public Safety arrived to stop Saint-Just from reading a speech he was supposed to let them sign off on but didn't, and per Jones, "the CPS' success on the day owed a great deal to the way that [they] exploited the flying start that Tallien had given them, pivoting around and improvising in a way that unified the Convention completely."
On point b., the bulk of the book followed the chaotic maneuverings of the Convention (national government of France) vs. the Commune (municipal government of Paris), which were, respectively, anti- and pro-Robespierre (or pro- and anti-overthrowing him?), while the National Guard was pretty much split between the two— at one point, both the pro-Robespierre incumbent commander of the National Guard and his replacement named by the Convention were simultaneously under arrest by the other's faction.* It ultimately came down to a majority of Paris' sections (neighborhood-level administrative districts) siding with the Convention, and that ultimately came down to communication: although it took them until 10 p.m., the Convention was able to communicate a formal narrative of what they were doing and why - and, perhaps most importantly, the consequences of noncooperation - in a way that the Commune was not.
* One of my favorite details from this book is that the Commune then randomly picked a replacement commander on the basis of the guy's impressively martial facial hair, much to the annoyance of that guy, who did not want the job. ("Giot may look the part, but certainly does not feel up to what his metamorphosis demands of him. Making a tour of duty ... shortly afterwards, he is congratulated on his promotion ... Turning a little pirouette, he self-mockingly exclaims: 'Me! Me! Fucking Commander of Potatoes more like!'")
I've also been reading The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry Fielding, at simultaneously a snail's pace and at least one chapter a day (as each chapter is about 3-5 pages long and the book is 700+ pages). I'm really enjoying it! It's a rollicking read— I don't know what I expected from possibly the most famous English novel of the 18th century, but the scene where a pregnant teenager beats someone with a human leg bone definitely came as a surprise— and very interesting as a historical artifact, both in terms of content and what Fielding/the narrator assumes about the reader.
The early chapters are somewhat broader in focus, using general details (e.g., the 5 am opening of Paris' gates to farmers) or specific ones (recorded births and deaths at 3 am on 9 Thermidor) to talk about life, policies, administrative structure, etc., in Revolutionary France. Jones also sets up the pins, as it were, by taking stock of the rumors that had pushed everyone to the edge: Robespierre and his allies were convinced of a foreign-backed plot to overthrow him; his opponents were convinced that Robespierre was planning another political purge. Things really kicked into gear at about noon, when one deputy to the National Convention, Jean-Lambert Tallien, interrupts a speechifying Saint-Just to demand that Robespierre be arrested as a tyrant. This proves to be a highly popular suggestion! Chaos ensues!
Going into this, I was familiar with the broad timeline of the day— Robespierre's arrest at the Convention, escape to the Hôtel de Ville, and ultimately recapture— but I hadn't realized exactly how a. spontaneous and b. chaotic it all was?? On point a., Jones argues that there isn't evidence to support either of the rumored conspiracies; Tallien's denunciation of Robespierre took everyone but a few like-minded deputies by surprise but happened, conveniently, right as Robespierre's opponents on the Committee of Public Safety arrived to stop Saint-Just from reading a speech he was supposed to let them sign off on but didn't, and per Jones, "the CPS' success on the day owed a great deal to the way that [they] exploited the flying start that Tallien had given them, pivoting around and improvising in a way that unified the Convention completely."
On point b., the bulk of the book followed the chaotic maneuverings of the Convention (national government of France) vs. the Commune (municipal government of Paris), which were, respectively, anti- and pro-Robespierre (or pro- and anti-overthrowing him?), while the National Guard was pretty much split between the two— at one point, both the pro-Robespierre incumbent commander of the National Guard and his replacement named by the Convention were simultaneously under arrest by the other's faction.* It ultimately came down to a majority of Paris' sections (neighborhood-level administrative districts) siding with the Convention, and that ultimately came down to communication: although it took them until 10 p.m., the Convention was able to communicate a formal narrative of what they were doing and why - and, perhaps most importantly, the consequences of noncooperation - in a way that the Commune was not.
* One of my favorite details from this book is that the Commune then randomly picked a replacement commander on the basis of the guy's impressively martial facial hair, much to the annoyance of that guy, who did not want the job. ("Giot may look the part, but certainly does not feel up to what his metamorphosis demands of him. Making a tour of duty ... shortly afterwards, he is congratulated on his promotion ... Turning a little pirouette, he self-mockingly exclaims: 'Me! Me! Fucking Commander of Potatoes more like!'")
I've also been reading The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry Fielding, at simultaneously a snail's pace and at least one chapter a day (as each chapter is about 3-5 pages long and the book is 700+ pages). I'm really enjoying it! It's a rollicking read— I don't know what I expected from possibly the most famous English novel of the 18th century, but the scene where a pregnant teenager beats someone with a human leg bone definitely came as a surprise— and very interesting as a historical artifact, both in terms of content and what Fielding/the narrator assumes about the reader.
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Date: 2023-07-10 05:43 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2023-07-10 06:37 pm (UTC)I love learning about unexpected happenings in classic novels! I feel like after Dracula Daily everyone knows about the cowboy in Dracula now, but my personal favorites are 1) the canon mpreg and abortion plotline in Journey to the West and 2) that time in Dream of the Red Chamber where the teenage male protagonist visits Fairyland in his dreams, there's a long sequence where basically the fates of all the major female characters are ominously foreshadowed via beautiful poetry, and also he has sex for the first time in the dream with a fairy, and then after waking up from his prophetic poetic wet dream has sex for the first time in real life with his maid.
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Date: 2023-07-10 07:31 pm (UTC)The WHAT???
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Date: 2023-07-11 06:17 pm (UTC)Of course, having brought it up, I'm now blanking on particular examples, but the narrator frequently addresses the reader directly and often, like, states assumptions how the reader is going to react to X character, Y plot point, etc.?? (Often more ironically than seriously, I think, but still, that's telling in itself...?)
Uh, Fielding also frequently "illustrates" scenes by going "[character] looks just like this one Hogarth picture!", which assumes a familiarity with or at least access to Hogarth prints? I guess?? (I'm so charmed by this habit, actually. It feels like when someone references a meme by typing out "good for her.jpeg" or "growth.gif"— humans have always been human!)
Speaking of the 18th century, in plot if not in actual publication date: I listened to the first half of the Kidnapped radio play yesterday (and will probably listen to the second half tonight) so thanks for recommending that!
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Date: 2023-07-11 07:07 pm (UTC)The narrator of Tristram Shandy does the same thing! He's very chatty, including remarks by the imagined reader in the narration and replying to them, arguing back and forth and so on—it's really entertaining.
That's cool about the Hogarth prints, too—a nice 18th century meme :D
I listened to the first half of the Kidnapped radio play yesterday (and will probably listen to the second half tonight) so thanks for recommending that!
Aww, yay :D I've listened to the first part and I really like it so far, I'm glad you're enjoying it too!
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Date: 2023-07-14 12:53 pm (UTC)I remember the narrator in Tristram Shandy giving some incredibly detailed descriptions of what pose somebody’s in i.e. Corporal Trim while he’s reading, where we’re practically told the angle at which his arm is bent; all the funnier since the narrator wasn’t even there to see it, he was upstairs being born at that moment.
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Date: 2023-07-14 04:55 pm (UTC)???!!!
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Date: 2023-07-15 03:09 am (UTC)Aaand I listened to the second part! I know I read this book as a kid, but I had absolutely no memory of the plot, so it was fun to revisit as if entirely new— but at the same time, it is literally called Kidnapped, so when his sketchy uncle and the ship's captain were all "let's go to a secondary location :)" I was still immediately like DAVID NO.
Anyway, very fun radio play! I was amused/charmed by how well David's voice actor got across his personality trait of being 17 years old, if that makes sense? Very good voice-acting all around. (And I love a Scottish accent, so.)
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Date: 2023-07-15 10:00 am (UTC)XD
Aww, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I do know what you mean about David's voice actor—I agree, and I thought he was a really good fit for the character in general. And well, if you ever fancy re-reading the book I can highly recommend it :)