Reviews

I had read this book twice before deciding to purchase the audiobook. I am so happy that I did. The concept of different narrators for each of the authors contributions--mind blowing. They are so talented. Their emotions came through the speakers, causing tears, making me laugh, creating fear.

I found excuses to listen just a little longer, then a little longer more. Why couldn't all of my history classes have been this enjoyable? I had always found the French Revolution a little gory. I had forgotten the human concept, just remembered the horrible violence.

The Ribbon of Scarlett audiobook reminded me that there was so much more that blood on the streets. There were beating hearts trying to save a country.

trudyd's review against another edition

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5.0

I was trying to figure out how to give this book the justice/review that it deserves. There are six different authors dealing with 7 different main characters that are interlinked by the French Revolution.

As I was reading I kept thinking this is similar to the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. They are all intertwined in some way. The education system failed us. Classes barely touched on the French Revolution. I cannot thank the authors enough for making me think, making me want to know more.

Ribbons of Scarlet give a fresh prospective. It isn't the "It was bloody and terrible" that we studied in school. It gives details. It creates empathy for some of the people involved. I developed an understanding that I didn't think possible. I am gutted. My heart weeps. To give the authors the credit they deserve I am going to make a few comments about each section.

Part I, The Philosopher by Stephanie Dray brings to the forefront the cruelty that was part of everyday life in France at the beginning of the French Revolution through the eyes of Sophie de Grouchy. The author has the ability to paint a vivid picture with words that had me nauseous as Sophie witnessed someone being punished on the wheel. The reader sees the challenges of females during that time period and that with proper support even they can influence others. When Sophie starts a school to teach the lesser class females to read she introduces the next character of importance, Louise.

Part II, The Revolutionary by Heather Webb centers around Louise a fruit cart seller who sees life from the eyes of the lesser class. She makes extra money delivering messages to those impowered to take action. This part also concentrates on Pauline who is much more vocal in the beginning, someone who Louise aspires to be. The reader gets a clear picture of the life of the less fortunate. The violence increases. The suffering continues to worsen developing more and more anger. France is spiraling. The king is loosing control.

Part III, The Princess by Sophie Perinot gives us a different perspective through the eyes of King Louis' sister, Madame Elisabeth. She is someone that has met and had some of the same beliefs as Sophie De Grouchy. She is a kind, caring soul who in another life would have been a nun. In a world where family comes first she stands by the King's side as people rise up against the royalty. Thanks to this section the readers gets a better understanding of everything that was going on. There are two sides to every story. Elisabeth's journey is frightful.

Part IV, The Politician by Kate Quinn shows us the influence of Manon Roland, wife of the Minister of the Interior is the power behind the pen. The Revolution should be coming to an end. Politics keep changing. Those in charge are deciding who lives or dies. With a rumor, Manon Roland can be crushed, her husband destroyed. Her self sacrifice gained my respect when at times I didn't much like the woman or the games she played.

Part V, The Assassin by E. Knight I am speechless after reading this section. It illustrated the different factions, the turmoil, the anguish, the challenges. The French Revolution was dirty and it touched everyone. Charlotte Corday travels from Caen with one goal-to save France. Through her eyes we see how Paris has been destroyed by those that know best. People are starving. People are dying and she blames one man, Marat. She sees the solution as simple but doesn't stop to think what will happen if she succeeds.

Part VI, The Beauty by Laura Kamoie was not full of beauty but it was the story of the Beauty of Paris, Emilie de Sartine. In better days she stood by her mother, running a gambling salon, living the life. As the revolution has no end in sight; the blood of so many innocents drip down the blades of the guillotine. Emilie, her mother, her brother and her husband are no longer accepted and soon live in fear of everything and everyone. If you live in fear long enough fear will control you. With the banging on the door those fears come to fruition. If you want details of living in the revolutionary prisons this part will have your heart breaking. The only beauty within in the walls was Emilie and Charles finally becoming husband and wife in reality and not just on paper. The day the leaders took Emilie's head was the day of change, too little too late.

Merged review:

I was trying to figure out how to give this book the justice/review that it deserves. There are six different authors dealing with 7 different main characters that are interlinked by the French Revolution.

As I was reading I kept thinking this is similar to the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. They are all intertwined in some way. The education system failed us. Classes barely touched on the French Revolution. I cannot thank the authors enough for making me think, making me want to know more.

Ribbons of Scarlet give a fresh prospective. It isn't the "It was bloody and terrible" that we studied in school. It gives details. It creates empathy for some of the people involved. I developed an understanding that I didn't think possible. I am gutted. My heart weeps. To give the authors the credit they deserve I am going to make a few comments about each section.

Part I, The Philosopher by Stephanie Dray brings to the forefront the cruelty that was part of everyday life in France at the beginning of the French Revolution through the eyes of Sophie de Grouchy. The author has the ability to paint a vivid picture with words that had me nauseous as Sophie witnessed someone being punished on the wheel. The reader sees the challenges of females during that time period and that with proper support even they can influence others. When Sophie starts a school to teach the lesser class females to read she introduces the next character of importance, Louise.

Part II, The Revolutionary by Heather Webb centers around Louise a fruit cart seller who sees life from the eyes of the lesser class. She makes extra money delivering messages to those impowered to take action. This part also concentrates on Pauline who is much more vocal in the beginning, someone who Louise aspires to be. The reader gets a clear picture of the life of the less fortunate. The violence increases. The suffering continues to worsen developing more and more anger. France is spiraling. The king is loosing control.

Part III, The Princess by Sophie Perinot gives us a different perspective through the eyes of King Louis' sister, Madame Elisabeth. She is someone that has met and had some of the same beliefs as Sophie De Grouchy. She is a kind, caring soul who in another life would have been a nun. In a world where family comes first she stands by the King's side as people rise up against the royalty. Thanks to this section the readers gets a better understanding of everything that was going on. There are two sides to every story. Elisabeth's journey is frightful.

Part IV, The Politician by Kate Quinn shows us the influence of Manon Roland, wife of the Minister of the Interior is the power behind the pen. The Revolution should be coming to an end. Politics keep changing. Those in charge are deciding who lives or dies. With a rumor, Manon Roland can be crushed, her husband destroyed. Her self sacrifice gained my respect when at times I didn't much like the woman or the games she played.

Part V, The Assassin by E. Knight I am speechless after reading this section. It illustrated the different factions, the turmoil, the anguish, the challenges. The French Revolution was dirty and it touched everyone. Charlotte Corday travels from Caen with one goal-to save France. Through her eyes we see how Paris has been destroyed by those that know best. People are starving. People are dying and she blames one man, Marat. She sees the solution as simple but doesn't stop to think what will happen if she succeeds.

Part VI, The Beauty by Laura Kamoie was not full of beauty but it was the story of the Beauty of Paris, Emilie de Sartine. In better days she stood by her mother, running a gambling salon, living the life. As the revolution has no end in sight; the blood of so many innocents drip down the blades of the guillotine. Emilie, her mother, her brother and her husband are no longer accepted and soon live in fear of everything and everyone. If you live in fear long enough fear will control you. With the banging on the door those fears come to fruition. If you want details of living in the revolutionary prisons this part will have your heart breaking. The only beauty within in the walls was Emilie and Charles finally becoming husband and wife in reality and not just on paper. The day the leaders took Emilie's head was the day of change, too little too late.

elizalavenza's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

bluestjuice's review against another edition

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4.0

I always think, before I begin a piece of historical fiction that is a collaborative interwoven narrative, that I'll be disappointed by the whole. I think this is because I tend to lump them together with anthologies in my mental catalogue, but this turns out not to be at all accurate, particularly where this piece is concerned. I'm not an enormous fan of the French Revolutionary period, which means I know the broadest strokes and that's really about it. So I had fun getting to sink my teeth in a little bit deeper with this novel of six plaits. Although each chapter had a focal character, the other characters wove throughout the narrative, and the whole was situated well in time to help keep track of the greater arc of the Revolution's trajectory as the narration focus shifted from character to character. Of course, the changing focal lens did mean that many secondary characters were lost sight of once the chapter in which they figured became deemphasized: this was a disappointment in some cases but a relief in others. And I never entirely felt like Élisabeth fit into the story completely - the authors made efforts to link her to the other characters, and her chapter itself was an interesting short story, but it was difficult to see her story fitted alongside the other focal characters, all participants in some capacity on the side of the revolutionary movement. Her presence supported the thematic aims of the narrative - that women are significant movers in great historical moments, while at the same time often thwarted or redirected or martyred in the court of public opinion - but unfortunately stood out a bit awkwardly otherwise.

This took me longer to read than I anticipated, but I think actually it just lured me into a false sense of its scale, as the whole thing weighed in at a substantial 500+ pages. As I've become accustomed to seeing from historical works by Stephanie Dray and other writers here, there was a fascinating set of author's comments outlining their research process, what parts of the story are supported by the historical record (far more than I ever expect is reasonable!) and what parts are fabricated or adjusted to suit narrative flow. I always love reading these notes because I think the art of writing historical fiction is rather magical, like mending a sock by painstakingly picking up the remaining stitches and replicating the missing stitches until the hole is covered and inconspicuous.

Also, uh, this would make a delightful historical drama television series, someone needs to option it stat.

Merged review:

I always think, before I begin a piece of historical fiction that is a collaborative interwoven narrative, that I'll be disappointed by the whole. I think this is because I tend to lump them together with anthologies in my mental catalogue, but this turns out not to be at all accurate, particularly where this piece is concerned. I'm not an enormous fan of the French Revolutionary period, which means I know the broadest strokes and that's really about it. So I had fun getting to sink my teeth in a little bit deeper with this novel of six plaits. Although each chapter had a focal character, the other characters wove throughout the narrative, and the whole was situated well in time to help keep track of the greater arc of the Revolution's trajectory as the narration focus shifted from character to character. Of course, the changing focal lens did mean that many secondary characters were lost sight of once the chapter in which they figured became deemphasized: this was a disappointment in some cases but a relief in others. And I never entirely felt like Élisabeth fit into the story completely - the authors made efforts to link her to the other characters, and her chapter itself was an interesting short story, but it was difficult to see her story fitted alongside the other focal characters, all participants in some capacity on the side of the revolutionary movement. Her presence supported the thematic aims of the narrative - that women are significant movers in great historical moments, while at the same time often thwarted or redirected or martyred in the court of public opinion - but unfortunately stood out a bit awkwardly otherwise.

This took me longer to read than I anticipated, but I think actually it just lured me into a false sense of its scale, as the whole thing weighed in at a substantial 500+ pages. As I've become accustomed to seeing from historical works by Stephanie Dray and other writers here, there was a fascinating set of author's comments outlining their research process, what parts of the story are supported by the historical record (far more than I ever expect is reasonable!) and what parts are fabricated or adjusted to suit narrative flow. I always love reading these notes because I think the art of writing historical fiction is rather magical, like mending a sock by painstakingly picking up the remaining stitches and replicating the missing stitches until the hole is covered and inconspicuous.

Also, uh, this would make a delightful historical drama television series, someone needs to option it stat.

jtlars7's review

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I was looking for a historical fiction novel and had enjoyed My Dear Hamilton and another by Stephanie Dray, so I decided to try this novel of the French Revolution. It’s divided into 6 parts, each focusing on a different woman and written by a different author. While I ended up enjoying the book overall, it felt like work to get into each new section. It’s been a long time since I read Marge Piercy’s City of Darkness, City of Light, but I might recommend that one first.

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