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Article: BIOGRAPHY Was Danton really the human face of the French Revolution and Robespierre its blood-soaked fanatic? asks Ruth Scurr
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- July 19, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Danton
By David Lawday
JONATHAN CAPE, pounds 20, 294 pp
Historians of the French Revolution have long asked themselves:
who was the better man, Danton or Robespierre?
In the 19th century, Alphonse Aulard admired Danton as a patriot:
a man of passion devoted to his country and the Revolution;
Robespierre meanwhile was a tyrant. Aulard's pupil, Albert Mathiez,
became Robespierre's chief champion and accused Danton of being 'an
insatiable gambler, who made a fortune by fishing in troubled
waters; a revolutionist who lived by his wits'. The personality
contest continues to this day. In part, it is a serious disagreement
about the role each man played in the Revolution, but there is
another ...