Synopses & Reviews
An exceptional work of miniaturist history,
The Journey of Martin Nadaud reconstructs the experiences of an ordinary man who rose to meet the challenges posed by extraordinary times. Through the life of a little known French political figure, Gillian Tindall recreates the world of France's master stone masons-builders of the Pantheon and the Louvre-and brings to life the turbulent atmospheres of Paris and London during the19th century.
Born into a poor family in the rocky heart of France, tramping hundreds of miles to Paris to find work at age 14, Martin Nadaud became a stone mason, a revolutionary, and a Member of Parliament. After the failure of the 1848 Revolution, he was forced into long and lonely exile in England. Nadaud found work on the building sites of Victorian London and eventually, under an assumed name, became a schoolmaster in Wimbeldon. He made his final triumphant return to his homeland in 1870, as France sat poised on the brink of humiliation, bloodshed, and rebirth.
Publicly, his was a life finally crowned with success. But on a private level Nadaud suffered griefs and losses would leave lasting marks on the man. Examining family letters and personal papers that have lain unread for the last hundred years, Gillian Tindall has constructed a moving and compelling portrait of a working man and his colorful times.
Review
"...splendid study of a man of many worlds." (New York Times Book Review)
Synopsis
Through the life of a little known French political figure, Tindall recreates the world of the master stone masons of France, those builders of the Pantheon and the Louvre, and brings to life the turbulent atmosphere of Paris and London in the mid-19th century. This elegantly written literary work is an exceptional piece of miniaturist history.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [295]-299) and index.
About the Author
Gillian Tindall is the author of two enduring books on the history of places, and a study of their meaning to writers. Two of her novels deal with rural France under the Occupation, and an early novel, which won the Somerset Maugham Award, is set in Paris. Her most recent book about nineteenth-century France,
Célestine, won high acclaim from critics and from the Franco-British Society, which awarded the book its prestigious Literary Prize.