A Place of Greater Safety: Further Resources
Our slow read of Hilary Mantel’s A Place of Greater Safety begins 5 May 2025 and runs for 20 weeks. Join here.
Hilary Mantel: In her own words
Interviews
(1993 originally) Literature of the Revolution | Verso Books
For more Mantel interviews see here.
Words by Others
Articles & Reviews of A Place of Greater Safety
(2023) A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, University of Michigan, Library blog
(2018) Guest review by Jean Ure: A PLACE OF GREATER SAFETY by Hilary Mantel
(2016) Hilary Mantel | A Place of Greater Safety | Slightly Foxed literary review - paywall
(2015) A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel - review | Children's books | The Guardian
(2011) Book Of A Lifetime: A Place of Greater Safety, By Hilary Mantel | The Independent
(1993) The New York Times: Book Review | Guillotine Dreams | A Place of Greater Safety
(1992) A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel - review by Douglas Johnson
(1992) P.N. Furbank · Falling for Desmoulins . LRB - paywall
(1992) BOOK REVIEW / The rough and tumbril of history: A place of greater safety - Hilary Mantel: Viking, pounds 15.99 | The Independent
History
Books Mantel Mentions in her LRB Articles on Robespierre and Danton
‘Robespierre’ edited by Colin Haydon and William Doyle
‘Robespierre’ by J.M. Thompson
‘History of the French Revolution’ by Jules Michelet, 1847
‘History of the Girondists’ by Alphonse Lamartine, volume 1, volume 2, volume 3
‘Interpreting the Revolution’ by Francois Furet
‘The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre’ by David Jordan
‘Danton: The Gentle Giant of Terror’ by David Lawday
‘Danton’ by Norman Hampson
‘Citizens’ by Simon Schama, of which Mantel has this to say: “Schama uses his narrative skill and his wealth of illustration to confirm people in the belief they already hold, which is that the Revolution was a bloody and nonsensical waste of time.”
Overviews of The French Revolution
Podcasts
Revolutions Podcast, Season 3: The French Revolution
BBC Sounds: Short History Of the French Revolution, Part 1 & Part 2
Websites
Versailles at the Heart of the French Revolution 1789
French Revolution - Britannica
French Revolution - World History Encyclopedia
Books
‘A People's History of the French Revolution’ by Eric Hazan
’‘Liberty or Death: The French Revolution’ by Peter McPhee
‘History of the French Revolution’ by Jules Michelet, 1847
‘History of the Girondists’ by Alphonse Lamartine, volume 1, volume 2, volume 3
‘Interpreting the Revolution’ by Francois Furet
‘Women and the Limits of Citizenship in the French Revolution’ by Olwen Hufton
Camille Desmoulins
Websites
Camille Desmoulins | French Revolutionary Journalist | Britannica
Books
'Camille Desmoulins: A Biography' by Violet Methley
'Camille Desmoulins and His Wife' by Jules Claretie
Maximilien Robespierre
Websites
BBC - History - Historic Figures: Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)
The Birth of Robespierre | History Today
Maximilien Robespierre | French revolutionary | Britannica
Books
‘Robespierre’ edited by Colin Haydon and William Doyle
‘Robespierre’ by J.M. Thompson
‘Robespierre: A Revolutionary Life’ by Peter McPhee
‘The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre’ by David Jordan
Georges Danton
Websites
Georges Danton | French Revolutionary Hero & Politician | Britannica
Books
‘Danton: The Gentle Giant of Terror’ by David Lawday
‘Danton’ by Norman Hampson
Madame Roland
Websites
Jeanne-Marie Roland | French Politician | Britannica
Books
‘Marriage and Revolution: Monsieur and Madame Roland’ by Sian Reynolds