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.
 First edition | |
| Author | Hilary Mantel |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Joseph Boze - "Portrait of Camille Desmoulins" Eugène Delacroix - "Liberty Leading the People" |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Published | 2006 (Viking Press) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| ISBN | 0-312-42639-9 |
Background
editMantel began writing the novel in 1975 and completed it in 1979, but was unable to find a publisher. “I wrote a letter to an agent saying would you look at my book, it’s about the French Revolution, it’s not a historical romance, and the letter came back saying, we do not take historical romances [...] because of the expectations surrounding the words ‘French Revolution’ ― that it was bound to be about ladies with high hair."[1] The novel remained unpublished until 1992. Mantel explains that, where possible, she used the historical figures' own words, from their speeches or writings.[2]
Reception
editA 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."[3]
In The Guardian, historian Kate Williams named the book her favorite of Mantel's novels.[4]
A article in The Independent described it as a “book of a lifetime”.[5]
References
edit- ^ MacFarquhar, Larissa (8 October 2012). "The Dead Are Real: Hilary Mantel's Imagination". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Mantel, Hilary (2006). A Place of Greater Safety. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312426392.
- ^ Olivier Bernier (9 May 1993). "Guillotine Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "This article is more than 4 years old My favourite Mantel: by Margaret Atwood, Colm Tóibín, Anne Enright and more". The Guardian. London. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Book Of A Lifetime: A Place of Greater Safety, By Hilary Mantel". The Independent. 18 February 2011.