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by franciii
09 May, 2018
Revolution in Paris - a description by British 30s author Sylvia Townsend Warner
This is a historical novel by a British left-wing author published in the 1930s when fascism was growing in Europe. It uses the 1848 revolution in Paris as a theme. It's descriptions are interesting and much of it is seen through the eyes of the lover of the protagonist Sophia, an ex-mistress of the protagonist's husband, a jewess. The reader might doubt the extent to which the protagonist is really left-wing but her experience of the '48 revolution makes her very sympathic and helpful to the revolutionaries. There is a strong story line running throughout the novel and also interesting details about social types and interrelations between various characters and their attitudes to the uprising and barricades. The story line predominates over the historical factuality and so it is and enthralling story of betrayal within marriage and the disadvantages of females in relations to property. The protagonist is wealthy British stock but sees a very different side to life when she becomes involved in a love relationship with her husband's mistress whose mind is disturbed by barbarities witnessed against the jews during her childhood in Lithuania. Flaubert wrote of the same period in Paris so a reader who is already familiar with the revolution from his Sentimental Education will enjoy this book.
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