Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution
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"Ruth Scurr does for Robespierre and the French Revolution what Quentin Bell did for Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury: she apprehends the complete personality of the man, the moment, and the movement. A work of genuine scholarship and political literature, "Fatal Purity" is an electrifying biography of an epoch's vaulting ambitions and wounded pride, radical vision and terrifying uncertainty, bracing heroism and decimating energies." -- Corey Robin, author of "Fear: The History of a Political Idea"
Helen Zaltzman, The Observer
'an engrossing account'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is little information out there on the lives of the leaders of the French revolution and their motivations. The majority of reading material is to do with the Terror, how it all started or the royal family. This book not only delves into Robespierre's life and motivation but also briefly shows you the motivation of his acquaintances Marat & Danton, the other names most associated with the Terror.
Fatal Purity shows you the contradictions in Robespierre's character along with his real belief that he was right and how those around him either had to agree wholeheartedly or stand against him.
Ruth Scurr charts the rise of Robespierre's political ambitions and his change in viewpoint on the use of heath as a weapon and finally shows how he finally failed in his aim and followed his former enemies to the guillotine.
I believe not enough is known about the personalities involved in the French Revolution, especially as they were the people who changed the course of history for an entire country and helped make it into what it is today.
I would definately recommend this book to anyone interested in French or European history (& have already recommended it to my mum)
Fatal Purity shows you the contradictions in Robespierre's character along with his real belief that he was right and how those around him either had to agree wholeheartedly or stand against him.
Ruth Scurr charts the rise of Robespierre's political ambitions and his change in viewpoint on the use of heath as a weapon and finally shows how he finally failed in his aim and followed his former enemies to the guillotine.
I believe not enough is known about the personalities involved in the French Revolution, especially as they were the people who changed the course of history for an entire country and helped make it into what it is today.
I would definately recommend this book to anyone interested in French or European history (& have already recommended it to my mum)
40 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a fantastic achievement, and really readable with it. The French Revolution is one of those events which is difficult for the modern mind to get fully to grips with - reasonably straightforward perhaps until about 1791 and then increasingly foggy until 1794. The haziness largely centres on Robespierre, because he is difficult for us, in a (post-Marxian) world in which we think through political formulae, really to get to grips with. As he moves increasingly centre-stage it is important to understand what he is after, and why the revolution sways chaotically around him. Ruth Scurr really gets to the heart of Maximilian Robespierre (the "Incorruptible", as she continually describes him), and translates him into modern form. This is a highly sympathetic history, but avowedly a convincing one. Here is a man with a true vision of virtue, of a society of truth and goodness, and in touch with its element. If the revolution is anything, he believes, it must achieve goodness, whatever the ambiguities that involves. It is remarkable how popular that man's vision for the revolution proved to be for his people in a time of almost anarchic violence and uncertainty. This was not a bloodthirsty despot, the first of the dictators. The Festival of the Supreme Being was a sublime moment of realisation for Robespierre, even if not necessarily for his own people, and far from the Cult of Personality of the later dictators, as it has been seen. Two hundred years down the road here is a British historian dishing the "sea-green" image of Carlyle which has so influenced our Anglocentric view of Robespierre since then.
This is fine revisionist writing, clearly argued, and above all, absolutely unputdownable. The sort of book you think will take you a week, but which you finish in a day and a half.
This is fine revisionist writing, clearly argued, and above all, absolutely unputdownable. The sort of book you think will take you a week, but which you finish in a day and a half.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
How easy it is to look at Maximilien Robespierre and see nothing but a monster, a mass-murderer, whose fate was well-deserved, though it perhaps came too late.
Yet there is a side to Robespierre that is usually overlooked: his human side, the Robespierre before the Revolution, the Robespierre who was, arguably, as much a victim of the Revolution as those for whose deaths he was responsible.
Ruth Scurr unravels the layers of this most fascinating of men, revealing the human being within. She discovers a man of great complexity: a man who did not believe in capital punishment, yet who spilled the blood of many. He was warm and kind to those he befriended, yet he sent his closest friends to the guillotine. He was a man who believed in justice, free speech and the rights of humankind, yet he denied these very rights to those who opposed him. He dared to preserve some spiritual influence in a country where Christianity had been banned. Known as the Incorruptible, he became everything he hated. Fatal Purity is perfectly complementary to previous studies of Robespierre, and could easily be read in conjunction with Hampson's fine book, for instance.
Dr Scurr's book is thoroughly researched and beautifully written. A real page-turner, I was sorry when it ended. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in Robespierre, and the study of how a shy, awkward, literary and sensitive man could turn into so bloody and brutal a figure, whose name became synonymous with the Terror.
Yet there is a side to Robespierre that is usually overlooked: his human side, the Robespierre before the Revolution, the Robespierre who was, arguably, as much a victim of the Revolution as those for whose deaths he was responsible.
Ruth Scurr unravels the layers of this most fascinating of men, revealing the human being within. She discovers a man of great complexity: a man who did not believe in capital punishment, yet who spilled the blood of many. He was warm and kind to those he befriended, yet he sent his closest friends to the guillotine. He was a man who believed in justice, free speech and the rights of humankind, yet he denied these very rights to those who opposed him. He dared to preserve some spiritual influence in a country where Christianity had been banned. Known as the Incorruptible, he became everything he hated. Fatal Purity is perfectly complementary to previous studies of Robespierre, and could easily be read in conjunction with Hampson's fine book, for instance.
Dr Scurr's book is thoroughly researched and beautifully written. A real page-turner, I was sorry when it ended. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in Robespierre, and the study of how a shy, awkward, literary and sensitive man could turn into so bloody and brutal a figure, whose name became synonymous with the Terror.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent piece of work
This is a brilliantly researched book that skillfully entwines something of Robespierre's personality with the historic events surrounding the revolution. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Joseph Kane
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
This very readable account of the momentous, chilling, chaotic events of the French Revolution distinguishes itself from the many previous versions through its focus on one of the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Antenna
Historical Biography as it should be
One of the most insightful biographies I have ever read.The Author gets into the mind of Robespierre and takes us to the eye of the storm that surrounded him. Read more
Published on 24 Dec 2008 by Pendragon
Well written and tragic
A well written and fascinating account of the life and career of this most famous and infamous of French revolutionaries. Robespierre is a fascinating man of contrasts. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2008 by John Hopper
Fatally flawed
This is a classic example of revisionist history. The common perception of Robespierre is of a power hungry monster prepared to have anyone who stood in his way sent to the... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2008 by C. Wareham
Fatal purity? How about vicious psychopath!
This book suggests that Robespierre's only crime was trying to help too much.
We have no window into Robespierre's mind, so perhaps if we knew only his words there might... Read more
We have no window into Robespierre's mind, so perhaps if we knew only his words there might... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2008 by Timothy Bates
Chilling
Impossible to put down. Compelling narrative. Stresses importance of natural religion and the pefectability of man to Robespierre. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2006 by H. Carter
Novel-like
I took this book on holiday as I wanted to know how Robespierre got his comeuppance. There was thought provoking content and the end of the book was like a well paced novel.
Published on 13 Aug 2006 by Mr. P. Martin
Truly Gripping.
This is a wonderful book. Readable, passionate and yet objective.
Scurr gives an excellant biography of the 'Incorruptible' while providing the backdrop of the... Read more
Scurr gives an excellant biography of the 'Incorruptible' while providing the backdrop of the... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2006 by Chris Warne
I had no idea the French could be so interesting!
Prior to this book my view of the French revolution was largely dependent upon a Carry On film I had half seen as a child. Read more
Published on 21 May 2006 by Dr. Luke Bennetto
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