Friday, June 01, 2012

Book Review: In the Reign of Terror: A Story of the French Revolution by G. A. Henty

I recently finished my second book by G. A. Henty - In the Regin of Terror: A Story of the French Revolution by G. A. Henty. I downloaded a FREE version from Amazon on to my Kindle app.

Image is of a MP3 version
Harry, an English boy, moves to France to live in the chateau of a French Marquis. The Marquis hopes that Harry's English ways will influence his boys. But, the French Revolution has come and there is danger to all French aristocrats, including the Marquis and his family. The Marquis and his wife move to Paris to support their king and imprisonment and death will await some of the family while Harry tries to protect the Marquis' three daughters.
Image from Wikipedia
Of course this is a very violent book given the topic it is covering. The violence begins with the horrific September Massacres of 1792. The massacres started with the slaying of 24 priests who were being transported to a prison named L'Abbeye. Five days of massacre followed as the mobsters emptied prison after prison, giving 'mock' trials and then executing the prisoners - male and female, young and old.

This book really helped me to understand the French Revolution and, more specifically, the Reign of Terror. However, I think it was incredibly gruesome and I don't think I'll share this particular book with Alex for a few more years. It might be better suited for high schoolers and adults.

1 comment:

Malea said...

So, is it historical fiction then? I am assuming so... Despite the violent aspects, it sounds like a storyline that would appeal to my son. Thank you for the review!

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