Rabble!

Rabble! brings to life the revolutionary commune that existed for two months in Paris in 1871 and the people and ideas that drove it. It is an exposition of the city, its monumental buildings, it' cold stones, its bistros, and riversides. It is a thorough exposition of the ideologies that were in the air and moved people to attempt a society where human beings live better: gender equality, free education, equal pay for equal work, and similar social goals. The future where those ideas survived and sometimes triumphed animates their presentation. The book also explores the conservative forces that endured and in the short run horribly crushed them. Above all it brings this place and these ideals to life in characters who come to understand and then urgently embrace them, how they act on them, and in some cases die for them. It follows a bookbinder who is politically aware and personally naïve at 17 when he comes to Paris. Book binding is mostly done by machines now, but in those days in France they were a skilled class of workers who tended to be idealistic and politically active. He embraces the commune, not to mention a girlfriend, changes of jobs, fighting on the barricades. The book, like the commune is rich in characters. Others fully realized include the girl friend, and a detective working on the conservative side. Caringly drawn secondary characters include the detective's chanteuse mistress, the girlfriend's mother who is a veteran working class revolutionary, friends he finds in a boarding house, new-minted schoolteachers, and others. Some appear in comics scenes of street entertainment. The plot in a narrow sense is the developing life of the bookbinder, but in a larger sense is the tragic arc of the commune. The prose is clear and thoughtful.

How wonderful it is to be transported to Paris in 1871. Fox's attention to detail and conversational storytelling prowess is of the highest caliber. The Paris Commune marked a historical point where working-class rabble-rousers created a short-lived experiment that provided a roadmap to Russia 1917 and other subsequent struggles against cruel imperialism. Fox deserves a big fan club.

This delightful historical novel (a page turner to the end) portrays the outbreak of the revolutionary Paris Commune in 1871 and working class Paris of the mid-nineteenth century through the experience of a young man from the provinces newly arrived in the great city, a bookbinder by trade, whose hopes for his own life are bound up in the idealistic aspirations of "the International.” Wandering the city's industrial streets and back alleyways, the newcomer falls in with a band of radical young friends from various of the manufacturing trades of that era, bronze workers, glove makers, laundresses, tinsmiths, woodworkers, and bookbinders, falls in love with a young woman whose parents had fought for the Commune of 1848, and as events move fast joins the Commune's National Guard first defending Paris against invading Prussians, then holding off anti-revolutionary national French forces, as the great wave of enthusiasm carries all before it. Reading "Rabble!” (as the Commune is viewed by its establishment enemies) I almost began to feel a Parisian myself, immersed in the lives of all elements of society of that day, from the street artists and musicians, rag pickers, and homeless military veterans living under the great bridges, to the milkmaids and wine vendors from beyond the walls of the city, the craftsmen in a bookbinding shop, the journalists of all stripes ("ink-shitters” in the vernacular) with their noses to which way the winds are blowing, the politicians and revolutionary leaders wrangling over theory and policy as the ground is being blown out from under them, and a police chief whose conservative professional aims to maintain the status quo mingle with even more pressing concerns about the trajectory of his own career. The reader gets a glimpse into the volatile and vital French culture, the color and excitement of the quest for "equality and fraternity” in Paris in 1871. Even as the barricades are being penetrated by the enemy, a young actress obliviously heads for an audition for her dream role in a play and is gunned down by the invaders suspecting her of being a pétroleuse, an arsonist. As the Commune's defenses are about to be broken by military forces from Versailles, the Paris cafes are still full of high conversation and intrigue, and thousands attend a grand musical concert certain the spirit of the Commune can never be defeated.

I really enjoyed the writing style while also being in awe of the author's careful efforts to ensure the reader was given a clear picture of the era in some detail. It's an original approach - very strong character-based story telling accompanying what is almost a fictionalised social history. Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/237021/review/700299

A beautifully constructed historical novel that evokes the atmosphere of the time perfectly. Can be a quite difficult read at times but is ultimately worthwhile with interesting characters who one can both sympathise and dislike. Wonderful descriptions of Paris and the conditions that forced the rebellious actions with the attitudes of the ‘higher classes' shown for what they were worth. Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/237021/review/246821