A Place of Greater Safety

A Place of Greater Safety (1992) by Hilary Mantel is a historical novel of the French Revolution told largely from the perspective of three lawyers turned revolutionary leaders: Camille Desmoulins, Maximillien Robespierre, and Georges Danton. The novel examines the psychological states and personal ties between these three key historic figures as they contribute to the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789 and seek to consolidate and hold onto power in the first French Republic until their executions by guillotine in 1794. A Place of Greater Safety illustrates The Dangerous Normalization of Revolutionary Violence, the role of Rhetoric and Persuasion as Instruments of Power, and The Strains of Political Ambitions on Relationships. 

Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) was known for her historical fiction. Her account of the rise of Thomas Cromwell in the court of King Henry VIII, Wolf Hall, won the Booker Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award in 2009.

This guide is based on the 2010 Fourth Estate paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of anti-gay bias, sexual violence, rape, ableism, child death, death by suicide, suicidal ideation, graphic violence, domestic violence, substance use and dependency, sexual content, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

A Place of Greater Safety uses rapidly shifting third-person limited perspectives with occasional passages in first person and objective third person. It also incorporates historically accurate quotes from the fictionalized personages in the novel, such as Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins.

Part 1 covers the early lives of the three protagonists, Maximilien Robespierre, Camille Desmoulins, and Georges Danton. Maximilien Robespierre is born in the town of Arras. He is orphaned at a young age. Due to his intelligence, he is sent to the prestigious Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris at the age of 10. There, he meets Camille Desmoulins, the son of a liberal lawyer in a small town. Camille gains attention at the school for his strident anti-authoritarian and republican views. Robespierre, a serious, solitary student, bonds with the young Camille despite their differences in temperament. They both train as lawyers. After school, Robespierre returns to Arras to open a practice while Camille stays in the city to work as a lawyer.

Danton, the son of a local court clerk in the small town of Arcis-sur-Aube, displays a brash, brave personality from a young age. He is badly disfigured after being attacked by the family bull, but he survives. He excels at school and is encouraged to go to Paris to make his mark by an itinerant actor, Fabre d’Églantine. Danton goes to Paris and takes up work as a law clerk. Meanwhile, France is plunged into a series of crises due to the mounting national debt, and people are struggling to survive.

Part 2 covers the early days of the French Revolution. In 1787, Danton is working as a lawyer for the minor nobility. He marries the daughter of a local café owner, Gabrielle. He becomes friends with Camille after they face each other in a court case. Camille is having an affair with an older married woman, Annette Duplessis. When their affair is revealed, Camille instead marries her daughter, Lucile, so as to remain close to Annette. Robespierre avoids close emotional ties, choosing instead to focus on advocating for judicial reforms on behalf of the poor and those unfairly targeted by the monarchy.

In August 1788, King Louis XVI calls a meeting of the Estates-General to address the growing debt crisis in the country. Robespierre, Danton, and Camille all attend the meeting as delegates. During the Estates-General, the Third Estate, representing the people, declares itself an independent Assembly, challenging the power of the nobility and the clergy. Robespierre, Danton, and Camille gain attention for their polemical rhetoric in speeches and essays arguing for a republic and an end to the monarchy. Camille in particular becomes known for soaring speeches that whip the crowds into a frenzy.

On July 14, 1789, two days after the King fires the Finance Minister, Necker, Camille gives a speech at the Palais-Royale that inspires the public to take control of the government themselves. In the subsequent riot, the people raid the military hospital Les Invalides for weapons and capture the Bastille jail. Danton participates as the Captain of the Cordeliers, a section of the People’s Militia.

Part 3 covers the events of the French Revolution from the fall of the Bastille to the Champs-de-Mars massacre on July 17, 1791. On August 4, 1789, the Assembly abolishes the feudal system. Camille begins to write pamphlets promoting republican ideals and the need to abolish the monarchy. On October 3, there is a lavish feast at the palace in Versailles while the people in Paris starve. Danton gives a soaring speech about the injustice of this. Fired up by his rhetoric, the people march on the palace and imprison the King in the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Over the course of 1790, Robespierre, Danton, and Camille all continue to gain power and attention for their passionate advocacy for the formation of a republic.

In June 1791, the royal family attempts to flee Paris. They are quickly captured and returned to the Tuileries, but this event prompts Danton and his allies to recognize that they must finally formally depose the royal family. However, more moderate and royalist delegates in the Assembly do not support this plan. Danton forces their hand by organizing an armed coup of the Assembly. On July 17, Danton executes his coup. Hundreds of people are killed by the National Guard, including at least 50 civilians on the Champs-de-Mars. The coup fails and Danton is forced to flee the country.

Part 4 covers the events from the end of 1791 to the August 10, 1792, coup. In September 1791, Danton returns to Paris and wins election for the role of Deputy Public Prosecutor. Robespierre and Camille continue to agitate for a republic through pamphlets, essays, and public speeches. On April 20, 1792, France declares war on Austria, as they fear Austria will invade to rescue the imprisoned queen, Austrian-born Marie Antoinette. In June 1792, the King attempts a crackdown on the few republican concessions he has made since 1789. 

In the context of this unrest, Danton decides it is time once again to enact a coup and bring the monarchy down. On July 24, he presents his manifesto arguing for the formation of citizen’s militias. On August 10, Danton and his allies execute his coup against the monarchy. The royal family is taken from the Tuileries Palace and imprisoned by the National Assembly. Many monarchists, some of whom are former friends and classmates of Danton, Robespierre, and Camille, are killed in the battles.

Part 5 covers the brief period when Danton and his allies hold governmental power in the republic until their executions in 1794. After the successful coup, the republicans form a new government and depose the king. Danton, Camille, and Robespierre all take leading roles in this new government. They decide, after being encouraged by the radical republican Marat, to execute many of the prisoners being held after the August coup for their anti-republican views. They feel this is necessary to prevent a counter-revolutionary revolt against their government. This becomes known as the September Massacre. 

However, Marat and other radical republicans like Saint-Just and Hébert feel Danton and his allies are not doing enough to root out counter-revolutionaries, while the moderate Brissotins or Girondins feel Danton is being too brutal. Danton resorts to extra-legal measures, including imprisonment and executions, to prevent these factions from gaining control of the government. This leads General Dumouriez, one of the important generals fighting for France against Austria, to resign from his role and surrender to Austrian custody.

To centralize governmental powers and oversee the persecution of suspected counter-revolutionary elements in the country, the government creates a Committee of Public Safety. After years of revolutionary activity, Danton, Robespierre, and Camille are exhausted and no longer have the physical energy to face down their political enemies. This creates an opening when allegations come forward about Danton, orchestrated by the radical republican Saint-Just. He is accused of financial fraud, rape, and counter-revolutionary activity. 

Robespierre sides with Saint-Just in the proceedings, despite his misgivings. He signs the warrants for their arrest. Danton and Camille are imprisoned. Although Camille’s wife Lucile attempts to free him, she is unsuccessful. A show trial is held in front of the Revolutionary Tribunal. Danton and Camille are both found guilty and executed along with their allies. A final Note describes how Lucile, Robespierre, and Saint-Just were all also executed later that year.