The Incorruptible

New York/London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Very Good. 1943. First Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket) [modest shelfwear, slight bumping at several corners, a touch of fraying to cloth at top of spine, uninteresting bookplate on front endpaper]. Novel set during the French Revolution and its aftermath, centering around the figure of Robespierre. A contemporary reviewer, in praising the book, described reading the book as "living with Robespierre, hearing his inner thoughts, and sharing the thoughts of those who lived with him and died because of him. Probably [the author's] method gives the reader a better understanding of the French Revoltuion and the people who led it than a recounting of the facts. At least it makes for better reading." Ms. Coryn had a definite predilection for French history of this period: her previous book (her first novel, published earlier the same year), "Good-bye My Son," presented the story of the Bonaparte family from the perspective of Napoleon's mother, and a later novel, "The Marriage of Josephine," examined the period from 1894 to 1899, which encompassed her meeting with Napoleon and the early years of their marriage. .