Where the LIght Falls--A Novel of the French Revolution

Where the Light Falls by Allison Pataki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an engrossing story--French Revolution devolving into the Reign of Terror. Simply horrifying. The rabble bound to have freedom, equality and fraternity are frightening enough but the men who managed to wrest power from the nobility are ruthless. For simply questioning the need to use the guillotine so universally one could find oneself summarily carted off to prison, given a joke for a trial and find yourself one of its next victims. It mattered not what the rank of the person nor the situation and company in which such doubts are expressed--none are safe. In reading of the threats and insidious betrayals of friends I could not help but think of the similar conditions in Russia during their revolution, of the rise of Hitler in Germany and many subsequent events in South and Central America and also in the Mideast. In one character's defense of the rampant death sentences, when another character compared the relatively bloodless success of the American revolutionaries, he said that the American's were not surrounded by other countries willing to invade them and to support resisters within. Therefore, he continued, it was essential to eliminate the enemies within totally so that they could not stop the Revolution when aided by these other monarchies which did not wish to see its success. An interesting point.
Yet, so many of those who were condemned to death were people whom the new leaders held personal animus toward or whose possessions were envied and therefore had to be taken from them. Into this maelstrom of chaos and revolt enter the characters who wish change in France and who are willing to help the cause but who are not leaders in it. The young idealistic lawyer from the South of France, Jean-Luc St Clair who moves to Paris with his wife, Marie and their young son, Mathieu. Jean-Luc finds a job with the government doing the inventory of the clothing, furniture etc taken from nobles' homes and from various Churches and convents. He also acts as lawyer in suits brought by common Citizens against members of the nobility. Not a very highly paid position but the young couple are glad to be of service and are barely noticed. That is, until Jean-Luc's trust in the law and justice cause him to take on a very dangerous case.
Then there is Andre Valiere and his brother, Remy. Both are soldiers in the French Army, where they hope they will be safe, since in actuality their surname is de Valiere and their father has already lost his head, having been a land rich noble from the North. His accuser, his former friend and fellow officer, General Murat and his prosecutor, Guilliame Lazare. Neither man will rest until they have been able to have Andre and Remy thrown in jail and eventually killed.
This cat and mouse game carries us through the rise of Bonaparte and his invasion of Egypt. It ends ironically with his own crowning as Emperor. The revolt started with the almost total eradication of those nobles who remained in France, the beheading of a King and his Queen, The Terror with its blade that ran the cobblestones of Place de la Revoltion red with blood and ended with yet another crowned head assuming control of a country whose people were somewhat freer but still starving, where neither equality nor fraternity reigned though now all were citizens or citizenesses rather than monsieurs or mesdames.

This is a review of an advanced uncorrected proof provided by Goodreads for that purpose.

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