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Nonfiction Bibliography This page attempts to summarize any nonfiction work mentioning Saint-Just, including biographies and other references. 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. I recommend online bookseller Tricolor Books for finding rare books on the French Revolution, as well as other French and European history books.
*New* A History of French Literature Language: English This book is "a convenient and yet comprehesive history of French literature" from the Middle Ages through the nineteeth century, with a section on the twentieth that is understandably brief considering that my edition of the the book at least was published in 1925. (Later editions may have more information.) Saint-Just is mentioned once as one of "[t]he other orators of the Revolution," other that is, from Mirabeau, Robespierre, and Danton. Wright incorrectly gives Saint-Just's age of death as 27 and describes him as possessing "the cold heartlessness of Robespierre together with the audacity of Danton" and as "inclining to the side of Robespierre." Available on Amazon.com:
*New* Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France Language: English Anna provided the information for this book and the following analysis: "This book is about women during French Revolution. Entertaining to read, but falling in to the category of popular history, so it seems more fiction than work of cultural history. Good thing about it is that there's lots of information about people that usually dont get mentioned at all. Saint-Just is mentioned 5-6 times and is called Robespierre's henchman. Moore seems to be on a personal vendetta against Robespierre and writes about him [as] "incapable of forming an intimate, adult relationship with a woman" and doesn't in fact mention Éléonore Duplay at all. That, in my opinion, is bad history writing." Available on Amazon.com
The Old Regime and the French Revolution Language: English (translated) This was one of the required books for my French Revolution course at college. It's extremely valuable, with many translated texts from before, during, and after the Revolution, allowing you to build a picture of the Revolution from the source rather than through a historian's eyes. It includes parts of Saint-Just's speeches on the king's execution, and most of his speech to the Convention on behalf of the Committee for Public Safety. Available on Amazon.com.
The Rights of Man, the Reign of Terror: The Story
of the French Revolution Language: English This book is aimed at young adults; it is labeled for grades seven and up, although I think it's somewhat above the level of the average (American) seventh grader. Amazon.com labels it for grades ten and above, which seems more accurate. Because it is written for teenagers, it is easy to understand and a good starting point for those interested in the Revolution. There are a good many illustrations and several sections called "Setting the Scene" with background information on things such as the guillotine and and Revolutionary fashion; also included are chronologies for each chapter. Saint-Just is mentioned a few times, particularly in reference to his demands for the king's and Danton's executions, and he is quoted. However, Banfield states that he had a reputation as a playboy, which while true of his past, was no longer the case by the time about which she is writing. Available used on Amazon.com.
"Spirit of the Terror" Language: English This article, published on February 27, 1969, in Volume 12, Number 4, of The New York Review of Books is a review of three works using Saint-Just as a uniting theme. The works reviewed are La 1ère Republic by Albert Soboul, Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française by le Société des Etudes Robespierristes, and English Historians on the French Revolution by Hedva Ben-Israel. I would be more inclined to listen to Behrens' opinions if he got his facts straight. He makes two factual errors in the first three paragraphs of his article, stating that Saint-Just was born in 1768 instead of 1767, and that he was twenty-seven when guillotined instead of twenty-six. Apparently the NYRB didn't have fact-checkers in the 60s. Behrens also states that Saint-Just "proved incapable" of action on Thermidor, which while more a matter of opinion than Saint-Just's birthday, is still inaccurate in that Saint-Just tried to speak but was drowned out. Besides being flat-out wrong in some spots, the article doesn't contribute much to information on Saint-Just, and I wouldn't recommend paying the $3 NYRB wants for a 35-year-old article. The first paragraph of the article can be read here; the whole article can be purchased for download as well.
Twelve Portraits of the French Revolution Language: English (translated) This work contains chapter-length biographies of various Revolutionary figures and groups, including Saint-Just. His chapter is typically poetic, and is sympathetic and refers to Robespierre as Saint-Just's inferior. As with most biographies of this length, it does not provide any new information but is interesting nevertheless. Available used on Amazon.com.
Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood: The Mob, the Monarchy,
and the French Revolution Language: English Oddly enough, this book ends with the execution of Marie Antoinette, making it a rather incomplete reference. In the preface, Bernier states that the reign of terror "matters less than what came before," an opinion which is obvious by the author's focus on the end of the ancient regime. Words of Fire might be useful to those interested in the monarchy but cannot stand alone as an authority on the Revolution. Saint-Just is described briefly and a short excerpt from his speech against the king is given. Available used on Amazon.com.
The Ninth of Thermidor: The Fall of Robespierre Language: English This book is useful because of the wealth of original documents translated here. Saint-Just is not mentioned often, but the book is worth having on hand for reference of Thermidorian events, especially for the transcript of the Convention session of 9 Thermidor. Available used on Amazon.com.
The French Revolution Language: English This book is useful if only as a quick reference due to the materials included before the actual text. There is a chronology of the major events of the Revolution, beginning with Louis XV's death in 1774 and ending with the Concordat's signing in 1801, as well as a section titled "Who's Who in the French Revolution." This section has brief biographies of a great number of people, although it is not necessary complete. (For instance, Sanson, the Revolution executioner, is not included, and Manon Roland's biography is only three lines.) The back of the book claims that Bosher takes a new approach to the Revolution by portraying those involved not as different social classes, but as "mixed and transient groupings." It also states that he "goes deeply into the pre-Revolutionary period" which certainly is true-- Louis XVI is not executed until roughly two-thirds of the way through the book. I wouldn't recommend this book as a thorough history of the Revolution, but the reference materials make it nice to have around. Saint-Just is given a brief biography in the "Who's Who" section, but is only mentioned in passing in the actual text. Available on Amazon.com.
Western Civilizations Language: English Saint-Just is mentioned once as being executed along with Robespierre. Burns' World Civilizations contains the same text and reference. Available used on Amazon.com.
Cultural Origins of the French Revolution Language: English Chartier's book takes a different approach to Revolution history, by showing the cultural as opposed to purely historical, details of the Revolution. Cultural Origins contains one reference to Saint-Just, in the form of the following quote from Hippolyte Adolphe Taine: "[I want to] show that Boileau, Descartes, Lemaistre de Sacy, Corneille, Racine, Fléchier, etc. are the ancestors of Saint-Just and Robespierre." Available on Amazon.com.
Greenhouse: The 200-Year Story of Global Warming Language: English Here's an odd one for you: a book on ecology whose first chapter talks about Saint-Just. The connection is made through Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier, who came up with the concept of global warming. One year younger than Saint-Just, he was arrested for defending three accused families and defended himself before Robespierre and Saint-Just. Thanks to Saint-Just, Fourier was arrested, but the Robespierrists fell before he could, and he lived to the ripe old age of 62. The first chapter of the book is available online here. Available on Amazon.com.
The Mainstream of Civilization, Fifth Edition Language: English This book is a typical college-level western civilization text book, but it features Saint-Just prominently, unlike most such books. It gives a fairly unbiased account of the Revolution, other than being very sympathetic towards Marie Antoinette. Mainstream is as informative as possible for the space allotted to the Revolution. Its first mention of Saint-Just is in reference to his calling for the execution of the king without a trial, referring to him as Robespierre's "terrifying young associate." It later describes Saint-Just joining the Committee of Public Safety in July, 1793, with Robespierre, and calls them the "ideological leaders" of the Committee. Saint-Just is mentioned twice more, when he accuses Danton and his associates before the convention "in the name of the Committees," and when he dies with Robespierre on 10 Thermidor (July 28, 1794). It also quotes him as saying that the Revolution had "iced over," shortly before his death. Most notably, Mainstream features a sidebar devoted to quotes from Saint-Just, titled "The Spirit of the Terror: Sayings of Saint-Just." It gives five quotes. Available on Amazon.com.
Saint-Just: Colleague of Robespierre Language: English This biography of Saint-Just is indispensable-- and unfortunately, very rare. Curtis seems to outline every known detail of Saint-Just's life and includes many excerpts of his writings, along with a few images. It makes for rather boring reading at times, but if you want to know all about Saint-Just, it's the book to have. Too bad it can't be had for less than $150 USD, even in its reprinted edition. You can search BookFinder.com for this book.
The French Revolution: Paper Dolls to Cut Out Language: English, French Beautiful paper dolls of most of the main figures of the Revolution, as well as some biographical information. The included information is in both French in English, although the English translation doesn't seem to be complete; for instance two paragraphs of Saint-Just's information are not translated. The information tells nothing of Saint-Just except to say that he could have saved his life had he not tried to speak to the Convention on Robespierre's behalf, and to briefly recount his death. The paper dolls in the book are quite nice, although only the women get additional clothes. Saint-Just does have a removable hat for throwing into paper fires, however ^_^ Saint-Just Available on Amazon.com.
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction As the title states, this is indeed a short introduction, including the causes and effects of the Revolution, its influences on culture, and the various approaches to studying it taken by historians. While interesting, I did not find it to be a very good work for those just beginning study of the Revolution because it does not give an account of what actually happened in the Revolution. Instead, I would recommend that you have a general knowledge of the Revolution before reading it, then use it as an introduction to further interpretive studies. Saint-Just is mentioned once. Available on Amazon.com.
The Age of Napoleon Language: English Part of a long series on civilization, this volume calls Saint-Just "the youngest and strangest of the Twelve, the most dogmatic, indomitable, and intense, the 'enfant terrible' of the Terror." That, unfortunately, is about the nicest thing the authors have to say about him. They claim that he was a hedonist-- and worse, a romantic-- using unproven information from other sources. Besides giving this brief, rather inflammatory biography, The Age of Napoleon provides a summary of Republican Institutions, quotes some of Saint-Just's speech against the king, and describes his Strasbourg campaign. It also has this to say about Robespierre: "He seemed quite immune to the charms of women; he spent his affection upon his younger brother Augustin and Saint-Just; but no one ever impugned his sexual morality." Available on Amazon.com
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia Language: English There is a brief biography of Saint-Just in this old encyclopedia. Very straight-forward and quite informative for its length.
The Terror in the French Revolution Language: English An excellent short work, Terror traces the evolution and consequences of the Terror, but provides an excellent and highly-readable-- and unbiased-- overview of the Revolution as well. It includes a timeline and extensive bibliography. Saint-Just is referenced several times throughout, beginning with his military work in Alsace and including his role in the Committee of Public Safety. Also mentioned are his proposal of the Ventôse Decrees, his disagreement with Carnot, and his execution. Available on Amazon.com.
La Belle France: A Short History Language: English Most people seem to think this book is superb, except for one reviewer at Amazon who gives a detailed list of all the mistakes Horne made in it. His biggest mistake, in my humble opinion, is one which many authors make: only mentioning Saint-Just to say that he was executed with Robespierre. Available on Amazon.com.
Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making
of Modernity 1650-1750 Language: English I am not overly fond of Radical Enlightenment due in part to the author's perpetual sarcastic tone, but mostly to the fact that the book ends up focusing almost solely on Spinoza. It does have a lot of information about many different figures, but this information is usually how they relate to Spinoza or Spinozism. The author seems to have a bit of an obsession with the man. . . although I suppose I don't have room to talk about obsessions with historical figures. Somehow, Saint-Just escapes being connected to Spinoza. He is mentioned three times, once as "Robespierre's Jacobin subordinate" who was greatly influenced by the person of Mably; and as one of a group of "derivate (and, in some cases, hack) utopians, proto-socialists, and atheistic materialists" inspired by Rousseau. Israel also states, "Robespierre and Saint-Just, before and during the Terror, considered themselves highly principled egalitarian republicans, charged with stripping away what was superfluous and corrupt, inspired above all by Rousseau." Available on Amazon.com
An Encyclopedia of World History Language: English This one-volume encyclopedia is arranged chronologically and features a timeline of the Revolution. Saint-Just is mentioned twice, once as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, and in reference to his execution.
The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations Language: English This interesting book is a collection of essays by various histories on different areas of the Revolution: its causes, the assembly, the war, the counterrevoltuion, the terror, the common people, the directory, and the benefits of the Revolution. It's a good place to get a lot of infromation on a variety of areas, but most of the essays are very subjective. Saint-Just is only mentioned a couple times, in passing. Available on Amazon.com
Societies and Cultures in World History Language: English As the title suggests, this book is a social history. Oddly enough, it quotes Saint-Just ("Happiness is a new idea in Europe") in relation to happy families. Available used on Amazon.com
The Holy Family or Critique of Critical Criticism
Language: English (translated) In part three of chapter six of The Holy Family, a quote is given which states that Robespierre and Saint-Just's desire to create a "free people" is contradictory in that this is only attainable through terror. Marx and Engels describe this quote as "hollow" and state that such liberty belongs to the "popular community," such as that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. They go on to quote Saint-Just several times, then to say that Robespierre and Saint-Just fell because they tried to appeal ideals suited to ancient times to a modern society. This section of the work can be read online in English here. The entire work is indexed here, and is available on Amazon.com
1789: Recueil de textes et documents du XVIIIe siècle
à nos jours Language: French 1789 was released in 1989 to commemorate the bicentennial of the Revolution by the Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique. It's a wonderful little book containing exceprts from many French politicians and authors, as well as brief biographies and a time line of events and works. Saint-Just's excerpt is titled "Des principes de la constitution française" from L'Esprit de la Rèvolution et de la constitution, apparently a speech given on October 1, 1791, at the Réunion de l'Assemblée législative. It's an absolutely beautiful piece of writing; Saint-Just uses parallel structure to compare the government of France to that of the ancients. He claims that the destiny of the state depends on the destiny of its citizens, and vice versa, and that patrimony will be lost without the rights of man. Saint-Just's statement is poetic even while he clearly enforces his point, giving an example of why he could be so convincing. A short biographical blurb is given. You can search BookFinder.com for this book.
A History of the Modern World Language: English Saint-Just is mentioned once as "youthful" and "an influential member" of the Committee of Public Safety. Available on Amazon.com
Twelve Who Ruled Language: English This excellent book gives an account of the year of Terror (1793-1794), along with biographies of the twelve members of the Committee of Public Safety. The biographies are spaced out chronologically throughout the text as each man's work came to the forefront. It is especially helpful because it devotes as much time to the lesser known members as to the famous ones. Each man also seems to be portrayed fairly objectively, without any bias on the author's part. Saint-Just has his own chapter focusing on his mission to Alsace, but much more information is provided about him as well. Highly recommended. Available on Amazon.com
Histoire de France: Des origines à l'an 2000 Language: French This beautiful history of France includes this sidebar featuring Saint-Just.
Oeuvres Complètes Language: French A brand new (as of 2004) edition of Saint-Just's complete works! Needless to say, I was delighted to find it. It has a rather lengthy introduction, and includes works such as Organt, L'esprit de la Révolution, his speeches, and his famous first letter to Robespierre, among lots and lots of other work. Available on Alapage.com.
Chasing Napoleon: Forensic Portraits Language: English Chasing Napoleon is an art book featuring portraits of, predictably, Napoleon. However, you'll also find bits of the Revolution, Nazis, and Elvis, created in colored wax. Tony Scherman seems, from the the interviews included, to hate every one of his subjects and to have a bit of an ego, but the art is impressive enough for me to forgive him for his unlikeability. There is one portrait of Saint-Just as a child in the book, titled The Secret Life of Robespierre: Saint-Just. For a scan of it and Scherman's comments on it, see the art page. Chasing Napoleon also includes is a brief biographical blurb about Saint-Just in Jacques Henric's introduction "Wrestling with Darkness," and Henric mentions him a couple times as the "boy wonder" of Saint-Nicolas. In an interview with Sanford Kwinter and Bruce Mau, Scherman mentions Saint-Just in connection to Robespierre: "When I found out that [Robespierre] was almost certainly a virgin I began to wonder if he ever had any sexual relations. Was he a homosexual? There was, after all, Saint-Just, the beautiful Aryan-looking young man who, when he was 18, wrote adoring, gushing letters to Robespierre telling him that he thought he was a genius. Saint-Just became his devout follower, and Robespierre brought him to Paris and plunged him into the center of things. He was very brillian, rose rapidly through the ranks and soon joined the Committee of Public Safety. He was an extraordinary worker, probably one of the few people who really understood the economic problems in France. Maybe they were lovers, maybe they weren't. If they were, it was never overt." Bonus quote: "I'd like to do a deck of cards, one day, the Robespierre Deck of Cards, where each card would have a different kind of perversion on it." I saw the exhibit of Chasing Napoleon (though not the portrait of Saint-Just) and met Scherman; see the art page for more details. Available on Amazon.com
Robespierre, the Incorruptible Language: English Biography of Robespierre which features a chapter on Saint-Just. It is an extremely florid chapter at that, with some very pretty but rather unnecessary descriptions of Saint-Just: "Had another mouth ever touched those perfect lips? What did that face look like asleep: were the cheeks flushed, the mouth open?" I have noticed, in my searches for Saint-Just on eBay that a lot of characters in romance novels share his last name. Perhaps they got their inspiration from this book. Anyhow, there is not much historical value in the chapter, but it's fun to read, especially when Sieburg gets to Saint-Just's "supernatural" qualities. . . . Available used on Amazon.com
Western Civilization Language: English This is, of course, a general western civ textbook; it has one chapter devoted to the Revolution and Napoleon and mentions Saint-Just once, quoting him in a reference to Rousseau's idea of general will. The rest of the chapter provides very general information on the Revolution. Available on Amazon.com
Revolutionary Types Language: English This book contains nine chapters on revolutionary figures from various countries and time periods, Saint-Just being the only one from the French Revolution of 1789 included. Taylor is fair in her approach to Saint-Just, neither too harsh nor lenient in her judgement of him, although she does carry his chapter on rather longer than I feel is necessary by debating with herself over his nature (i.e., "He was good because of this, but bad because of that, but good because of the other, but, etc."). Most of the chapter, besides this speculation, is biographical information that could be found elsewhere, although she does mention a few facts about his engagement to Henriette LeBas that I had not read before. Available used on Amazon.com
Leaders of the French Revolution Language: English Leaders of the French Revolution contains short biographies on eleven revolutionaries along with accompanying portraits, including Saint-Just, Robespierre, Danton, and Mirabeau. Thompson has a rather facetious tone which is off-putting, along with his excuses for and minimizing of the Terror. He explains it as part of the "French national spirit" and claims that it wasn't that bad compared to later events in French history. Thompson does not give any information on Saint-Just that I haven't seen elsewhere except for some excellent quotes, particularly Nodier's physical description of Saint-Just, and Saint-Just's great niece's reference to him as "poor Uncle Anthony." Portrait of Saint-Just from Leaders of the French Revolution Available on Amazon.com
Ranskan vallankumouksen kuvat (Images of the French Revolution) Language: Finnish Anna writes that her book "deals mostly with symbols, arts, crafts, fashion and such of revolution, neo-classism, and how the revolution was represented by following generations in art and popular culture." She mentions Saint-Just briefly. Available on Granum.
Regicide and Revolution Language: English Regicide and Revolution consists of Walzer's essay of the same name, and a collection of speeches made at the trial of Louis XVI. The essay deals with Charles I's trial and execution as well as Louis'; it compares regicide in the form of murder to that in the form of trial and execution, and contends that the trial and execution of Louis were necessary to the Revolution. It is interesting, but not very well-written; Walzer restates his points over and over and does not have a clear structure for defending his thesis. Saint-Just is mentioned several times in the essay; Walzer quotes him more often than any other French revolutionary. Two speeches by Saint-Just are included in the collection in the second half of the book, making it worth owning. Available on Amazon.com
The Story of France Volume II Language: English Originally published in 1899, this book is written in such a way that even the most boring historical details are interesting. It reads more like a novel than an historical text, and at over 1000 pages long, it covers a lot of ground. Saint-Just is mentioned a few times and is given a page-and-a-half long biography. He and the other Revolutionary figures are treated fairly in the work, without too much bias in either direction. It's a bit outdated if you're looking for the actual "story of France," and it ends rather early even for the time at which it was written. Nevertheless, it has a lot to offer as far as the Revolution is concerned. The first volume of The Story of France covers pre-Revolutionary events; this volume begins with the end of Louis XV's reign and ends with Napoleon's consulate. You can search for this book on BookFinder.com.
A Biographical History of the French Revolution Language: English This history of the Revolution, mostly in the form of mini-biographies of various Revolutionary figures, is rather florid in its language, trying too hard to be poetic and as a result sacrificing proper grammar and clarity. Its good point is that if you manage to look past the rhetoric, it presents many important figures in a short amount of space, and connects them to the major events of the Revolution. It includes a chapter on Saint-Just, which doesn't present much of anything that can't be found in other biographies. Whitham presents him as a vain but tragic figure, emphasizing both his impetuousness and his dignity in death. Despite the over-worked language, Saint-Just is given a fair, and fairly accurate, portrayal. Still, your reading time would be better spent on a more direct biography. Available used on Amazon.com
Marie Antoinette Language: English (translated from German) This is, of course, a biography of Marie Antoinette, with a nice timeline at the end. Saint-Just is mentioned on one page as, along with Robespierre and Desmoulins, one of "[t]he noblest, the most spiritual embodiments of the revolution. . . ." It also quotes him on the subject of Hébert, whom the author regards as "the unclean beast, the empty-headed spouter." Available on Amazon.com
I will eventually add summaries for the following books where possible. Saint-Just: Apostle of the Terror Lucile and Camille Desmoulins, une couple dans la
tourmente L' homme révolté (The Rebel) The French Revolution Guillotine and Cross Saint-Just Europe: A History Saint-Just Sister Revolutions The Terror: the Shadow of the Guillotine Histoire de Saint-Just Saint-Just The Days of the French Revolution Saint-Just Saint- Just ou les vicissitudes de la vertu The Psychology of Revolution Cavalier Saint-Just Robespierre Life in Revolutiary France Paris in the Terror Le triangle noir Age of the French Revolution Three Portraits Saint-Just Saint-Just Saint-Just Saint-Just et la Force des Choses The Memoirs of French Revolution Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution Robespierre: The Voice of Virtue The French Revolution Revolusjonen som rystet Europa (The Revolution that Shook Europa) Voices of the Revolution Saint-Just |
