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Fiction Bibliography This page attempts to summarize any fictional works mentioning Saint-Just, including novels and plays. Works are listed alphabetically by the authors' last names. Contributions to this page are welcomed; email susanna[at]saint-just[dot]net if you can provide information on a book not listed here. However, please check to make sure that your book isn't already listed in either the summary section or the unsummarized title list at the end of this page.
Danton's Tod (Danton's Death) Language: German, translated to English by Carl Richard Mueller Danton's Death was the inspiration for Przybyszewska's The Danton Case and has been made into at least three movies. Written by Büchner at age 21 (he died at 23), it relates the events leading up to Danton's execution, including his arrest and trial. There are some historical errors in the play, such as the fact that Danton's wife is named "Julie" (at the time, he was married to Louise Gely), and that Lucille Desmoulins yells "God save the King" as a form of creative suicide. Aside from these errors, the play is actually very well written. Some have critiqued it for the fact that Danton is a static character, and there is very little action in the play. The trial, which could have been a source of some exciting scenes, is dealt with rather quickly, conveyed by only a couple short speeches of Danton's. However, the lack of action seems symbolic to me. The incident of Danton's arrest and execution was so marked by indecision and ambivalence-- both his and Robespierre's-- I think Bücher did quite well to conveying it with less than dynamic characters. Saint-Just's role in the play consists of convincing Robespeirre to arrest Danton and the others, and making a long speech. Available on Amazon.com
Zanoni Language: English Of Zanoni, Anna (wsunnajai at luukku dot com) writes, "It's boring, teosophical-type occult stuff. The translator in my language is someone from teosophical institute and promises that reader can gain some 'hidden wisdom' by reading the book. The book is a story about some mystical person (really, I couldn't read it all, hidden wisdom can be awfully tiresome) who lives through centuries. The latest chaptures happen in revolutinary France, during the terror. It's mostly about Robespierre, but Saint-Just is mentioned as talented, but criminal and appears a few times. Bulwer-Lytton is famous from the beginning in one of his books 'It was a dark and stormy night.' A Bulwer-Lytton prize is given every year for the worst beginning sentence in literature! The famous cartoon-figure Snoopy starts his books the same way." Saint-Just appears in Zanoni briefly and is described as "bold," "fierce," and "stern." The book ends with 10 Thermidor, and from what little I read seems to be along the lines of Neil Gaiman's "Thermidor" as far as Robespierre's fall being caused by mystical undying forces and whatnot. At any rate, it's highly anti-Robespierre and as Anna says, awfully tiresome. Zanoni is not copyrighted and may be downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg.
The Fall of Robespierre: An Historic Drama Language: English This interesting little piece was written in 1794 by two famous English poets. Tallien is the hero, with Robespierre as the vain villain, and Saint-Just, Couthon, and Augustin (called "Robespierre Junior" in the play) as his flunkies. It vaguely follows the events of Thermidor, with artists' licenses taken, of course. Saint-Just has little personality other than being called "high of haughty spirit," but the play is fun to read and was an exciting discovery for me. (I found it in the list of plays in the back of my copy of Thermidor.) Best of all, it's available for free on the web: http://www.otal.umd.edu/~msites/robespierre/robes1.html Also available expensively on Amazon.com
The Incorruptible Language: English The Incorruptible focuses primarily on Robespierre, covering the events of 1794 from Germinal to Thermidor. Much of the novel is written from his point of view, although Coryn also writes from that of Danton, Carnot, Eleonore Duplay, and a handful of other pivotal figures. The novel is quite interesting in that it gives the thoughts of some often-ignored participants in the revolution (such as Cécile Rénault, who allegedly attempted to assassinate Robespierre), and it gives a good depiction of everyday life during the Revolution. Coryn puts a good deal of focus on Tallien, whom she presents as a sort of antithesis of Robespierre. He is physically messy whereas Robespierre is neat, and he represents the force of love compared to Robespierre's force of virtue and terror. However Coryn has a tendancy to reuse certain phrases and images, such as that of Fouche as a rat and Carnot's concept of Robespierre as "the little lawyer-fellow," to the point of tedium. One-third of the text could probably be cut from The Incorruptible without any loss of plot if such repetition was elimated. Coryn also has an annoying habit of slipping into second person, especially where Robespierre is concerned. Almost the entire last page of the book is written in second person, which lessens its effect as phrases like, "You had lived for thirty-six years. In as many minutes you would be dead," are rather untrue of me. I have only lived for twenty-four years, and if you are reading this, I did not die within half an hour of writing it. Coryn also makes some historical postulations that seem to be taking rather great liberties. The most easily noticed is that she claims Robespierre's bullet wound to the jaw the night before his death was from the same bullet with which LeBas killed himself. In all my years of studying the Revolution, I have read only that Robespierre either shot himself or was shot by one of his arresters. It seems rather unlikely that LeBas could have both shot himself fatally AND blown off another man's jaw with the same bullet. Only about half of one chapter is written from Saint-Just's point of view, and he is surprisingly unimportant in the grand scheme of the book. He is generally presented as Robespierre's ideal of himself, though he doesn't seem to care about much of anything and is rather wooden throughout. Overall I was disappointed in The Incorruptible, especially as I paid a lot for it. The Incorruptible seems to be quite rare-- I was only able to find one copy online, which I duly bought. I would suggest keeping an eye on used book stores, antiques stores, and thrift shops if you want a copy. If I find it available elsewhere online, I will provide a link.
The Glass-Blowers Language: English A fictionalized account of du Maurier's French ancestors, a family of glass-blowers before, during, and after the Revolution, The Glass-Blowers is poorly written with not a single sympathetic character in sight. (And just who the heck are the people shown on the cover of the Avon edition? The illustrator seems to have been a bit mixed up on the number of brothers and sisters in the family.) It's hard to feel sorry for the narrator Sophie and her family when the Vendeeans eat their food and steal their furnishings; after all, Sophie has been living comfortably for some time on the items her husband and brother stole from the aristos' mansions they raided. du Maurier repeatedly skims over years in a single page and doesn't inform her readers that Sophie's had yet another baby until the kid's six months old. The characters are stereotyped as well. (Hmm, an ardent revolutionary with a stutter. . . that sounds familiar.) Still, since most novels set during the Revolution deal with the Revolutionaries, it's interesting to see what the lives of the French outside of Paris might have been like. Saint-Just is mentioned twice in passing. Available from just about anywhere. Too many editions to link to!
Citizen Tom Paine Language: English Citizen Tom Paine is just what it sounds like: a historical novel about the incredibly depressing life of Englishman Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense and The Rights of Man. The first two-thirds of the book relates his role in the American Revolution, leaving the last third to his return to Europe. Of that, about two chapters deal with the French Revolution. Fast skips large periods of time in Paine's life rather abruptly, but this leads to a fast-paced story. The novel was actually pretty interesting, and I read it in a couple days. Saint-Just is mentioned a few times; his longest scene is about half a page in which he denounces Paine. There is also apparently a play by Fast titled Citizen Tom Paine: A Play in Two Acts, but as Saint-Just had such a minor role in the novel, I doubt he is featured in the play. If I'm wrong, please let me know! Available from just about anywhere. Too many editions to link to!
*New* 'Tis Folly to Be Wise, or Death and Transfiguration of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Language: translated English 'Tis Folly to Be Wise follows the story of Fernand Girardin, a rather confused and fickle young noble whose father was host to Rousseau during Jean-Jacques' last days. Rousseau himself dies fairly early on, and the rest of the book makes an attempt at tracing his legacy through the French Revolution, up until the state funeral given for him years after his death. None of the characters are particularly likeable, and most of them seem rather stupid, but I did learn a lot about Rousseau. Saint-Just appears near the end of the novel, most prominently in his speech calling for the king's death. He also accompanies Robespierre to Rousseau's grave and is shown as Robespierre's close friend. This book seems to be out of print, but used hardcover copies are available on Amazon.com.
The Snow Palace Language: English Play portraying Stanislawa Przybyszewska as she works on The Danton Case while allowing herself to freeze to death. She imagines or hallucinates Saint-Just, Danton, and Robespierre as she struggles to finish her writing. Interestingly, only six actors are used in the play, with all of them except those who portray Stanislawa and Robespierre playing more than one role. Saint-Just's actor also plays the role of a waiter. More significant are the duel roles of Danton's actor, who also plays Stanislawa's father. As might be assumed from this casting, Stanislawa's love-hate relationship with her father, the playwright Stanislaw Przybyszewsky, is the basis for her portrayal of Danton in Gems' version of events. My main problem with The Snow Palace is that the Revolutionaries-- particularly Saint-Just and Robespierre-- behave quite differently than they do in Przbyszewska's works. Throughout the play, Stanislawa is shown writing down their actions as they appear before her, so it stands to reason that they should act as they do in The Danton Case. Saint-Just and Robespierre lack the empathy shown in The Danton Case, and they are often snappish towards one another. For instance, when Saint-Just declares, "All I know is that I'd die for you," Robespierre replies, "Rubbish-- stop it." Saint-Just also lacks much composure, which seems highly out of character in general. Overall I'm not very fond of The Snow Palace, but it does provide a look at Przybyszewska's life that I otherwise would not have received. And besides, it's short. When The Snow Palace was first performed and went on tour in the UK, Saint-Just was played by Justin Avoth. Available on Amazon.com
Ninety-Three Language: French, translated to English Definitely not a novel on par with Les Miserables, but a pretty decent book nevertheless. '93 focuses mostly on fictional characters fighting in the Vendée, but it does feature some action in Paris, in the form of a very interesting, um, "discussion" among Marat, Robespierre, and Danton. Saint-Just never appears directly, but he is mentioned several times. The book is better than I make it sound, because I read it in less than a week rather than leaving it to languish on the shelf, half-read, for years (the fate of most of my books). It's a good story at the least. Available on Amazon.com
Darkness at Noon Language: English Saint-Just is quoted ("No one can rule guiltlessly") at the beginning of one of the chapters. Thanks to James Siddelley. Available used from Amazon.com
Cavalier Saint-Just Language: Eastern Armenian Although I have never read this book, I am listing in the completed reviews section because I doubt I shall ever be able to learn Armenian! The following description is given on Narek.com, from which the book is available: "Antoine Saint-Just was the youngest of all the major figures of French Revolution and perhaps the hardest among them to understand. Dead at twenty-six, this enigmatic young man has been called the first professional revolutionary, the father of totalitarianism, deplored as a monster of fanaticism, and hailed as a hero. His youth, beauty, bravery, coldness and terse idealism have posthumously endowed him with the mystique of the '"Angel of Death.'" Available from Narek.com
Vanity Fair Language: English Saint-Just is mentioned once in Chapter 10: Available on Amazon.com
La Vendée Language: English La Vendée, published in 1850, is the fictionalized story of Henri de Larochejaquelin, a royalist leader of the counter-revolution of La Vendée, along with his friends and family. It takes place from late 1792, before the beginning of the counter-revolution, through the battle of Laval. Trollope considerably alters the events related in his source, the Memoirs of Madame de Larochejaquelin (who was the real Henri's sister-in-law, and whom Trollope neatly removes from his novel). He also conveniently forgets the Vendéens' violence towards the republicans they captured. La Vendée is about as royalist as The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities combined, so consider yourself warned. Saint-Just appears briefly when Trollope spends a couple chapters with Robespierre in Paris. He, along with LeBas and Couthon, visits Robespierre and the Duplays, where Saint-Just is rather surprisingly sympathetic in regards to Marie Antoinette's trial. In the edition I read (1994 Oxford paperback) Saint-Just also has a brief biographical note. This book is out of print and hard to find for a reasonable price. However, you can read it online for free.
A Far Better Rest Marie Antoinette The Gods Are Athirst Saint-Just Das Fraulein von St. Amaranthe Antoine et Maximilien (Ou La Terreur sans Le Vertu) The Gods Are Thirsty A Place of Greater Safety Title Unknown City of Darkness City of Light Saint-Just et l' invisible The Danton Case/Thermidor: Two Plays Scaramouche, the Kingmaker "Le Bourgeois sans-culotte" |
