The Gods Are A-Thirst (Les Dieux ont Soif) - Anatole France - 1942

In this masterful historical novel, Nobel laureate Anatole France creates a chilling portrait of ideological extremism during the French Revolution's most violent phase. "The Gods are A-Thirst" follows the transformation of Évariste Gamelin, a struggling artist who becomes an implacable revolutionary judge during the Reign of Terror—a man whose pursuit of abstract virtue leads him to send countless "enemies of the Republic" to the guillotine. With psychological precision and biting irony, France examines how revolutionary fervor curdles into fanaticism as Gamelin sacrifices his humanity, relationships, and eventually his own life on the altar of political purity. Through richly drawn characters and meticulous historical detail, the novel explores timeless questions about the corrupting nature of absolute power and the dangers of righteous certainty. Neither a condemnation nor celebration of the Revolution itself, France's nuanced narrative serves as a profound meditation on how noble ideals can become perverted in their implementation. The Gods are A-Thirst (aka Les Dieux on Soif) - Anatole France "The authorised translation from the French by Alfred Allinson: with an Introduction by Andre Maurois and Illustrations by Jean Oberle" Published 1942, Nonesuch Press, London Hardcover. Approx. 6.5x10in. 205pp. Spine is somewhat worn. Otherwise in good vintage condition. Comes with an ugly battered slipcase.