Annette Vallon: A Novel of the French Revolution

Prices for book: Annette Vallon: A Novel of the French Revolution

Book ISBN: 9780060822217

Author(s): James Tipton

Document type: Trade Cloth

Publisher: Unknown

Loading latest prices, please wait

Reviews

Should Emile Legouis receive more credit from Tipton?

Rating: 60%

Mr Tipton's novel seems, for one who has read both, merely a fleshing out and reorganization of Emile Legouis' 1922 book "William Wordsworth and Annette Vallon".

It should have been utlimately a more fascinating book had he kept closer to the facts and written a sorely needed biography of Vallon. Further research into her life would seem a most worthwhile effort, rather than a rehashing and rearranging of what is already known.

Avid Reader (Amazon.com)

If It Makes you Cry, You Know It's Good

Rating: 80%

Started off a little slow, but something kept drawing me in. Most definitely picked up pace about half way through and then I couldn't put it down. The end had me sobbing like a baby! I'm not particularly fond of poetry, so I found all of the poetic quotes a little monotonous, but they were an important part of the story. I'm always fascinated by books written by a man, but from a woman's perspective; Mr. Tipton did an impressive job of expressing Annette's voice. Only one drawback (and it's minor)... I tend to have trouble keeping track of characters if their names are similar and I noticed that there were many last names in the novel that began with the letter 'V.' It was a little confusing for me, but certainly nothing to deter anyone from reading this very enjoyable book. Definitely pick it up!

R. Boadway (Amazon.com)

Very Enjoyable

Rating: 80%

I stumbled upon this book quite by accident in the local library and was very pleasantly surprised. I had recently read the first of the Josephine Bonaparte trilogy, and was happy to see that this was along the same lines - set against the backdrop of the French Revolution.

I learned many things about the time of the French Revolution, and was entertained while reading. I was actually saddened when I finished, because the story was over. Annette Vallon sounds like an incredible figure from that time period. If the story is even half true, what an incredible heroine we have before us! It was a story of romance and love, heroism during a very violent and unstable time, and the story of the strength of one woman who helped to save many from the madness that swept France in the late 18th century. I also learned a little bit more about poetry and Wordsworth along the way.

It was a pleasure to read and I am looking forward to reading another novel by Tipton, if he should produce one. Having checked it out from the library, I had to purchase my own copy as soon as possible, and look forward to reading it again.

Ann Sanford (Amazon.com)

Interesting & Enjoyable

Rating: 80%

Annette Vallon is a great read for any historical fiction fan. This book blends many interesting facts about the French Revolution with the romance between Annette Vallon and William Wordsworth. The author does an excellent job creating the personalities of Annette and William, two very real people. That is really what I found the most interesting. The novel is almost a character study on these two historical figures. Through different bits of letters, poems, and actual records, Tipton is able to create a vivid, exciting novel that follows an actual historical timeline and gives believable personalities to Annette and William. His explanation of his methods at the end of the book is most definitely worth reading. In addition to reading about the exciting and deep passion of Annette and William, I learned much about the politics and events of the French Revolution. A definite recommendation for history and romance lovers!

Maggie Cleary (Amazon.com)

Beautiful Prose

Rating: 80%

Although I'm not a fan of novels written by men from a woman's POV, ANNETTE VALLON disposed of this prejudice in a few pages. Born into a wealthy bourgeois family during the last days of the Ancient Regime, Annette is an avid reader of novels, particularly the "dangerous" ones by Rousseau and Laclos. She is also an idealist, a perilous mindset in any age. When she meets the poet Wordsworth, on a free-spirited tramp through Europe, she falls--finally, fatally--in love. She bears him a daughter, but France and England are soon at war and will remain so for a generation. The lovers can never marry. Tipton's writing is polished and evocative and his settings the most perfect form of time travel, but the novel is broken into two "movements." I enjoyed the second, which deals with Annette's lonely struggle to survive and raise her daughter, more than the first. During this time, France is undergoing successive spasms of revolutionary violence. Social reforms lead to The Terror, to which she loses her beloved father and brother. With the bloody logic of many later revolutions, the ever-increasing savagery of "purification" leads to Napoleon's dictatorship, and from there to his endless wars. I don't know how much of Annette's counter-revolutionary daring is imagined, but if you like brave, intelligent heroines who aren't afraid to use a pistol in the name of suffering humanity, here is one you won't forget.

julietw (Amazon.com)

Look no further! You will find millions of the best cheap books online right here. Whether you're searching for used college textbooks, used books, new books or used textbooks for sale we have it!

* Shipping will vary in such stores. Consult the store's website for details.

^ This item is part of an auction and its price might go up at anytime.