Title: Beware Mme la Guillotine
Witten by Sarah Towle
Published by Time Traveler Tours, LLC
Category: Children’s nonfiction
Ages: 11-18
Themes: French Revolution, murder, Charlotte Corday, jean-Pierre Marat, Guillotine
Platform: iPad
Release Date: February, 2013
Price: $ 5.99
iBook available at: Apple iTunes Store
It’s 1789 and France is on the brink of civil uprising. This iBook takes us through the economic and political turmoil that led to the revolution that transformed not just the French nation, but had worldwide repercussions. Over the next few years as the French Revolution swings into full, bloody momentum, this interactive historical drama narrated by 24-year-old, Charlotte Corday, gives a very personal twist to this historical event. Why would a noble-born convent girl abandon her family in northern France to stalk revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat? The reader will be caught up in the chaos that claimed the lives of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, and events that rocked France forever. While in prison and awaiting execution by guillotine, Charlotte recounts her personal journey through Paris during the Reign of Terror. Leading the reader from the Palais Royal, where she bought her murder weapon, to her prison, the Conciergerie, she explains how and why she had the nerve or courage to murder radical propagandist Jean-Paul Marat while he soaked in the bath. As Charlotte tells her personal tale, interpretation and motivation, readers will be exposed to the need for change and yet the horrors of that social shift for so many. The Machiavellian question is left hanging in the air, is violence ever justified?
Why I like this book:
I have always loved history, but confess that my knowledge is based predominantly on my thirst for historical fiction. However, if historical non-fiction had been presented to me with so much interactivity and a personal slant, I may well have immersed myself so much more as a teen. This will be a thrill for historians and educators, but also for any one traveling to Paris, or armchair travelers. The multiple choice questions kept me on my toes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive maps, or listening to the Marseillaise!
Interview with Sarah Towle of Time Traveler Tours
The iBook Beware Madame La Guillotine is currently English only. The French version will launch next with the bilingual English/French version shortly after. The app is fully bilingual so you can switch languages at the touch of a finger on the tactile screen. The iBook is being used in classrooms by language and history teachers, as well as armchair travelers.
The next story, which will be launched this summer, is about the creation of the Catacombs beneath Paris, narrated by a grave digger’s ghost. His story tells of the underground ossuary, which contains the remains of about six million people and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of ancient Roman quarries.
Facebook: Time Traveler Tours & Tales
Twitter: @ParisAppTours
Website: www.timetravelertours.com
Thank you, Miss Marple, for this generous recommendation and thoroughly enjoyable read!
I’m particularly interested to hear you call Charlotte’s story “historical nonfiction”. I’ve been challenged lately to define the genre I’m working in, which seems to walk the line between narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. Now I have an alternative to ponder — one that might just be spot on.
Can’t wait to share the French version with you!
Sarah
I can’t wait to see the French version. Book classification is not easy at times!
Oh wow Joanna. This sounds thrilling. I love reads like this one. It will really be good for us in homeschool too. Thanks for such a wonderful recommendation. You get the FIVE stars today. *wink* Squeezes pal.
Yay, Robyn, I hope your kids get a history thrill from this one!
I love how creative Sarah was with her idea and its very creative format. As I was reading your review, I was thinking it sounded liked historical fiction. I think calling it “historical nonfcition” would help. Brilliant for classrooms. I listened to the entire interview Sarah did with Julie and have an even better grasp now. I love historical fiction, but to combine it with nonfiction makes it even more intriguing! Wish I had this as a teen. Great review!
Pat, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I am dying to try the BEWARE MME LA GUILLOTINE app in situ in Paris, that really takes the interactivity to another level. I think this is such a cool educational book, which I too, wish I had had in school.
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