I too could not drag my eyes away from the scene in front of me. The cart had been unloaded and the first prisoner—a woman—was being helped up the steps to the guillotine. The executioner and his assistant pushed her forward onto a plank and shoved it through the machine. A sort of wooden brace held the neck still. The drums began to roll. The executioner reached for the pulley. I turned away my head and shut my eyes tight.
The Fall of the Blade: A Girl's French Revolution Diary[3] is a book written by Sue Reid. It was the twenty-first book to feature a girl protagonist in My Story and the forty-third overall. The book was published in June 2010 and was followed by Pamela Oldfield's Factory Girl.
The book follows Isabelle, the daughter of a former marquess, living during the Reign of Terror period of the French Revolution.
Dedication[]
- "For Alison and Rob"
Book description[]
- "It's 1792. Isabelle, daughter of an aristocrat, lives in a chateau just outside Paris. But France is in the grip of the Revolution, and as terror takes hold of the city, Isabelle's family decide that they must flee to the countryside. But will they be safe there? Will they escape the guillotine's falling blade...?"
Plot[]
Historical Note[]
Characters[]
- Main article: List of The Fall of the Blade characters
- Isabelle, the thirteen-year-old daughter of a former marquis who begins a diary in secret as the revolution becomes more serious. Her family eventually finds themselves in danger.
- François is Isabelle's reckless older brother who was attending college until all the institutions were closed. He has royalist sympathies which nearly gets the family in trouble.
Author[]
- Main article: Sue Reid
Sue Reid is an author of children's and young adult novels in the historical fiction genre. She has authored six books for the My Story series, including Mill Girl, War Nurse, Pompeii, Give Us the Vote!, and Lady Jane Grey. Reid was happy to write about the French Revolution since the period always fascinated her. She chose to set the story during 1792 since the period was becoming "more frightening" then.[4]
Editions[]
![Ve stínu gilotiny Czech edition 9788025217597 (February 2011)[5]](/wiki/File:Fall-of-the-Blade-Czech.jpg "Fall-of-the-Blade-Czech.jpg (23 KB)")
Acknowledgments[]
- "My thanks go to Colin Jones, David Andress, Jo Daykin and Charles Palliser. I am particularly grateful to Graeme Fife for all his help and advice with this book."
Notes[]
- The cover was illustrated by artist Richard Jones, whom illustrated all of the My Story books in its second relaunch.
- The spine on the box set edition of the book leaves out the "The" in the title.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fall-Blade-My-Story/dp/1407111183/
- ↑ The Fall of the Blade, Sue Reid, pages 143-144
- ↑ Stock photos have the subtitle "A Young Aristocrat's Diary," but the actual book has the subtitle as "A Girl's French Revolution Diary."
- ↑ http://www.suereidauthor.com/fall_of_blade.html
- ↑ https://www.knihydobrovsky.cz/kniha/muj-pribeh-ve-stinu-gilotiny-denik-divky-z-obdobi-velke-francouzske-revoluce-1792-1794-15771 (Czech)
See also[]
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