Georges Danton was a leading figure of the French Revolution and a powerful orator associated with the overthrow of the monarchy and the early republic. He was executed in 1794 during the Terror after falling out with Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety.
Georges Danton also held the offices or ranks of President of the National Convention, deputy to the National Convention, and Minister of Justice. Georges Danton was born in Arcis-sur-Aube and died in Paris.
Baroness Orczy’s A Child of the Revolution places André Vallon within Danton’s political circle and uses that connection to show how revolutionary commitment can become dangerous as factions harden. Rafael Sabatini’s Scaramouche brings its eloquent swordsman into contact with Danton during the accelerating upheaval of 1789. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ The Tangled Thread follows a family that tries to use an association with Danton for protection, only to discover that his own fall leaves them exposed to the Terror. Orczy’s The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel returns to the rivalries surrounding Danton and other revolutionary leaders as Chauvelin hunts Percy Blakeney’s network. Victor Hugo’s Ninety-Three moves into the harsher republican world that followed, where Danton’s politics form part of the revolutionary struggle between emergency government, civil war and ideological purity.