num_pages: 479
description: In her most splendid, thought-provoking novel yet, Marge Piercy brings to vibrant life three women who play prominent roles in the tumultuous, bloody French Revolution--as well as their more famous male counterparts. Defiantly independent Claire Lacombe tests her theory: if men can make things happen, perhaps women can too. . . . Manon Philipon finds she has a talent for politics--albeit as the ghostwriter of her husband's speeches. . . . And Pauline Léon knows one thing for certain: the women must apply the pressure or their male colleagues will let them starve. While illuminating the lives of Robespierre, Danton, and Condorcet, Piercy also opens to us the minds and hearts of women who change their world, live their ideals--and are prepared to die for them.
language: English
title: City of Darkness, City of Light
titlecomplete: City of Darkness, City of Light
characters: Camille Desmoulins, Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, Maximilien Robespierre, Georges-Jaques Danton, Madame Roland, Pauline Leon, Claire Lacombe
genres: Fiction, Historical, France, War, Womens, French Revolution, 18th Century, Novels, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
ratings_count: 1271
places: Paris
publisher: Ballantine Books