Glory and Terror: Seven Deaths Under the French Revolution
This is an engrossing and highly original work by an acclaimed  young scholar and biographer (coauthor of Truffaut). A professor  of history at the University of Saint Quentin in Yvelynes,  France, de Baecque brings to this study a keen understanding of  the "theatre" of revolution. His thesis is that at key points in  the French Revolution, the deaths or burials of several leading  personalities were celebrated, commemorated, or treated in such  a way as to lend meaning and symbolism to the prevailing mindset  and temper of the Revolution at that time. Hence, the death of  Mirabeau in 1791 seemed to symbolize the death of the first  (moderate) stage of the Revolution. Similarly, the elaborate  1791 ceremonies surrounding the transfer of Voltaire's remains  to Paris could be viewed as a sign of the "collective  regeneration of the French people." De Baecque also aims to have  readers comprehend the symbolism behind the vicious and barbaric  assaults on the corpse of the Princess de Lambelle, or the  treatment accorded the body of the dead King Louis XVI.  Remaining "corpses" discussed include Geffroy, Robespierre, and  Madame Necker. De Baecque also recounts the varying ways in  which those of differing political persuasions came to remember  and memorialize these deaths over time. A fascinating work for  serious students of the French Revolution; recommended for  academic libraries. Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.