The task Mentel set herself when she began this work is in itself terrifying. An account of the lives of three main players in the revolution, from French provincial birth to Parisian death.
The resulting novel is, unavoidably, massive and takes in a cast so large that the book requires a list of characters at its start. Its large cast reminded me of Dickens and Tolstoy and like those nineteenth century authors Mantel is one of the many writers who have tackled the French Revolution in literature and in this work she shows her flair for historical writing that also won her the Booker in 2009.
Mantel, like Dickens, is at her best when giving full reign to her omniscient narrator, eighteenth century existence is brought vividly to life and the interior thoughts of the characters are dealt with with a beautiful sense of empathy.
The dialogue I was less happy with. Most of the people featured in the book were great and intelligent individuals but much of the speech in the novel comes across as too polished and witty by half. These people were masters of oratory and self publication, but all the time?
Mantel sometimes gives us the dialogue set out as if it were a play text which is possibly an intentional way for the author to acknowledge this problem herself.
In setting out on such a work Mantel must have known she could not please everybody but I for one am glad she has. The book deserves to be better known and hopefully in light of her Booker success it will be. ( )

Follow Danton, Robespierre, and Desmoulins through the French Revolution. Imaginative biography. Worth reading if you're obsessed with the event, as I am.

A wonderful, rich, dense (in a good way) novel about the French Revolution, focusing primarily on three prominent revolutionaries: Georges-Jacques Danton, Camille Desmoulins and Maximilien Robespierre. The book follows them from childhood through the beginnings of the Revolution, when all three were young lawyers -- Danton and Desmoulins in Paris, Robespierre in his home province. And while Robespierre is the most notorious in history, he is the least of three in this novel's focus. It was a bit of hard slogging at first, admittedly, because there were so many names, titles and allegiances to track -- but once those are familiar it so absorbing you won't want to stop. Even though you know it won't end well for these characters. ( )

This is historical fiction for people who don't read historical fiction. It essentially traces the movements of key figures in the years and days leading to the French Revolution. I am in a nonfiction phase right now, yet it drew me in enough that I forgot to water my veggies for a few days. Trust me, that is a big deal. Writing this even makes me want to read it again. Maybe I'll give it that last star after a second read... ( )

Everything about this book is huge- its length, its scope, its cast, and its research. Mantel takes us to the razor's edge- showing how those brilliant men who engineered and orchestrated the French Revolution and its ideals lost control of their creation and became victims themselves of the Terror. It is immensely readable, with engaging, complex characters. Mantel does an excellent job of portraying Robespierre, Desmoulins and Danton in a way which leads readers to be sympathetic towards them while also being horrified of what they were party to. An excellent read for anyone who finds the French Revolution fascinating, and a wonderful novel overall. ( )