Anatole France – författare

It is April 1793 and the final power struggle of the French Revolution is taking hold: the aristocrats are dead and the poor are fighting for bread in the streets. In a Paris swept by fear and hunger lives Gamelin, a revolutionary young artist appointed magistrate, and given the power of life and death over the citizens of France. But his intense idealism and unbridled single-mindedness drive him inexorably towards catastrophe. Published in 1912, The Gods Will Have Blood is a breathtaking story of the dangers of fanaticism, while its depiction of the violence and devastation of the Reign of Terror is strangely prophetic of the sweeping political changes in Russia and across Europe.

It is April 1793 and the final power struggle of the French Revolution is taking hold: the aristocrats are dead and the poor are fighting for bread in the streets. In a Paris swept by fear and hunger lives Gamelin, a revolutionary young artist appointed magistrate, and given the power of life and death over the citizens of France. But his intense idealism and unbridled single-mindedness drive him inexorably towards catastrophe. Published in 1912, The Gods Will Have Blood is a breathtaking story of the dangers of fanaticism, while its depiction of the violence and devastation of the Reign of Terror is strangely prophetic of the sweeping political changes in Russia and across Europe.

'Believe me, the best proof is to have none at all. That is the only evidence one cannot debate.'Anatole France's 1908 novel Penguin Island offers a thinly veiled lampoon of French history and of human civilization. When a wayward Christian missionary monk lands on an island off the northern coast of Europe, he perceives the island's seabirds, a colony of upright, unafraid auks, as a sort of pre-Christian society of noble pagans and baptizes them. This causes a problem for God, who normally only allows humans to be baptized. He resolves the dilemma by converting the baptized birds to humans and giving them each a soul. The ensuing history of Penguinia presents a comic send-up of the foibles and frailty of humanity.The novel's centerpiece is an immensely skillful and scathing parody of the Dreyfus Affair, which stands alongside Émile Zola's 'J'accuse' for its humanity and intellectual bravery. This new translation, more than a century after the first and only English version, offers a full introduction to the novel, setting it in its historical and literary context, including France's life and rich literary legacy.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.