Biblio File

To the Barricades! Bastille Day Books

In honor of Bastille Day, we’re thinking about the idea of revolution and all the ways that authors have defined it throughout history.

We asked our expert NYPL staff to name their favorite books about revolution—literal or figurative, for young and old readers alike. 

Close to Home

Crystal

No Crystal Stair by Nelson Vaunda Micheaux. Mostly set in Harlem, this is a touching biographical story reflecting a literary revolution that also points to the Black Nationalist Movement. —Nicola McDonald, Jerome Park

 

 

 

 

 

Turncoat

I’m a romance reader, so when I discovered Donna Thorland’s American Revolution-set Renegades of the Revolution historical romance series, I got excited. They’re a trilogy of loosely connected novels depicting the adventures of female spies during the American Revolution. In Turncoat, a sensible Quaker woman is turned into a rebel spy in 1777 Philadelphia; in Mistress Firebrand, an actress and rebel in 1777 British-occupied New York becomes a writer of seditious plays; and in The Rebel Pirate, a British naval captain in 1775 Boston finds himself held hostage aboard a rebel privateer, by an enigmatic woman. Perfect for fans of Outlander and author Phillipa Gregory. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

Fifth of March

Apropos of this topic, I have written two blog posts—one for adult readers and one for young readers—on books about the American revolution, which is my favorite historical period. Of the ones I wrote about, The Fifth of March and Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi are my favorites. —Ronni Krasnow, Morningside Heights

 

 

 

 

 

Far from Home

Midnight

I’d like to recommend everything written by the Soviet dissident writer Victor Serge, but his novel Midnight in the Century in particular. In 1933, Serge was arrested by Stalin’s police force—again. He was subsequently held in solitary confinement for 85 days. Then he was exiled to Orenburg for two years. And then he wrote Midnight in the Century, a short political thriller inspired by the author’s own experiences with the Russian Revolution and its afterbirth. In Chenor, a community in Stalin’s shadow, exiles carry on. They hide, some literally and others in plain sight, and hope. One of my favorite novels, with one of my favorite final sections ever. —Chad Felix, Social Media

 

 

 

July's

Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People is a really interesting take on an impending revolution. Written a few years before the end of apartheid in South Africa, this novel depicts Johannesburg amidst a violent race war. The plot is all about a white family that moves to its trusted servant’s native village to stay safe. It’s effectively Gordimer’s prediction of how apartheid would finally be dismantled (revolution!), and contains a host of really sharp examinations of race, privilege, family, and politics. —Nancy Aravecz, Mid-Manhattan

 

 

 

 

Coup

I liked Coup de Grâce, Marguerite Yourcenar’s cold-country hothouse story of doomed love in a doomed society, set among German aristocrats about to be uprooted from their ancestral homes in the Baltic lands in the chaotic period of civil war following the Russian Revolution. —Kathie Coblentz, Special Collections

 

 

 

 

 

Half

Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun brilliantly depicts the Nigerian Civil War. And is a must-read in general. —Danita Nichols, Inwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cities

One of my favorite books, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, has the French Revolution as a culminating event. A very appropriate Bastille Day read! —Katrina Ortega, Hamilton Grange

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Novels

March

John Lewis’ wonderful graphic novels March (books one and two) are about the civil rights movement—an ongoing socio-political revolution. —Caitlyn Colman-McGaw, Young Adult Programming

 

 

 

 

 

Civil War

Civil War: A Marvel Comics Event. An unfair law turns friend against friend and hero against hero. Who is right? —Brian Baer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vendetta

As far as revolutions in fiction works go, Alan Moore’s graphic novel V for Vendetta readily comes to mind. —Jenny Baum, Jefferson Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children & Young Adult

History

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future is about a lot of things, but let’s focus on the revolution that Glory will lead in the future, when women’s rights are curtailed by a totalitarian regime. How does she gain the ability to see what has yet come to pass? Why, one day she drinks a cocktail of mummified bat mixed with beer, granting her magical powers. —Charlie Radin, Inwood

 

 

 

 

Divergent

Coming from a YA perspective, I am a huge fan of the dystopian “revolutions” such as the Divergent series by Veronica Roth or the classic 1984 by George Orwell. For revolutions for a younger audience, how about Harry Potter? ​—Dawn Collins, Wakefield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunger Games

Of course this list needs to include Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games. —Danita Nichols, Inwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brother

A tale of brothers pitted against each other as a new nation fights for freedom against an unjust, oppressive kingdom. James Lincoln Collier’s Newbery Honor Book, My Brother Sam Is Dead, is an engaging narrative about the American Revolution and how it affects one family, two brother, and finally an entire nation. This is historical fiction at its finest, to be read by adults and children—great for a family read or included on a school summer reading list. —Karen Ginman, Selection Team
 

 

 

 

 

Johnny

Also hanging out with the American Revolution gang was Johnny Tremain, an apprentice at Paul Revere’s silversmithy. Since we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this month, it should be noted that Esther Forbes’ book details the disability of the title character’s hand and the accommodations that he could and couldn’t make at work and for his role in the Revolutionary War. —Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Exhibitions

 

 

 

 

Revolution

Jennifer Donnelly’s Revolution. A touching, mind-bending tale of Andi, a Brooklyn teen and gifted musician grieving the loss of her younger brother, who spends her winter break in Paris and finds the French Revolution-set diary of Alexandrine, the nanny to the doomed son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The stories run parallel to each other until providence, art, science and a bit of time travel bring them together. —Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

 

Chocolate

Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. As a teen reader, it was such an eye-opener that noncompliance can be its own form of sedition, and that this type of revolution—seemingly so quiet and small at first—can be so subversive and become so powerful. —Amie Wright, MyLibraryNYC
 

 

 

 

 

True Stories

Beatrice

You say you want a revolution? Okay, you got it. I am currently reading Destruction Was My Beatrice by Jed Rasula, which is a survey of the birth of the Dada movement and how it upended the art world in the early 20th century and eventually left its mark on surrealism, pop art, and performance art. Why was Dada revolutionary? Simply put, it was anti-art. Hugo Ball, a father of Dada, perhaps put it best in a 1918 manifesto: “In principle I am against manifestos—as I am against principles.” —Wayne Roylance, Selection Team

 

 

 

 

Missoula

Rape culture is endemic on college campuses around the country. Jon Krakauer’s Missoula, an exhaustive feat of journalism, is a deep dive into its cause via a few cases in one college town. I listened to the audiobook a month ago and can’t stop thinking about it. ​I want to believe it’s about a revolution that’s just about to happen. —Gwen Glazer, Readers Services

 

 

 

 

 

Fantasy & Sci-fi

Promise

Promise of Blood by Brian McLellan. It’s a flintlock fantasy taking place during the aftermath of a palace coup in a setting reminiscent of Revolutionary France. The magic practiced by powder mages uses gunpowder to improve reflexes, aim the perfect shot, etc. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

 

 

 

 

 

Grace of Kings

Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings: this Asian-inspired fantasy novel tells the story of two men who become friends through revolt and who turn on each other when the Revolution is won. —Brian Baer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thieftaker

Thieftaker, D.B. Jackson’s take on magic in Boston immediately prior to the American Revolution. Ethan Kaille is a thieftaker (a precursor to the modern bounty hunter) and a conjurer, hired by a prominent family to retrieve their murdered daughter’s necklace. Kaille encounters Revolutionary figures, such as Samuel Adams, in his pursuit of the necklace and the killer. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

 

 

 

 

 

Dune

Frank Herbert’s Dune books: classic science-fiction at its best. Young Paul Atreides embraces his destiny after his family’s destruction and ends up transforming the galaxy. —Brian Baer, Mulberry Street

 

 

 

 

 

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your choices! Leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend.

Comments

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Bastille Day Books

I would add "The Wave" by Todd Strasser. Charismatic leaders and passionate groups may take you to dark places, in spite of what they say and the best of intentions. Actions speak louder than words.