In the Reign of Terror

by G. A. Henty

First published 1888

Amazon Gutenberg EPUB

2.5(5)

Harry Sandwith, a Westminster schoolboy, is sent to France to live with the family of the Marquis de St Caux shortly before the Revolution destroys the security of the aristocratic household. What begins as an educational stay becomes a struggle for survival as political violence intensifies and the Reign of Terror places the St Caux family in immediate danger.

Harry uses his position as an English outsider, along with disguise and quick judgement, to help members of the family evade arrest and escape towards safety. His movements bring him into contact with both revolutionaries and royalists while Paris passes through its most violent phase. The novel focuses less on battlefield warfare than on imprisonment, flight and rescue in a society where a name, document or suspected loyalty can determine whether someone lives or dies.