The Revolt of the Angels

Set against the quiet stone of an old Parisian mansion, the story follows three brothers of the d'Esparvieu family as they navigate the turbulent currents of French history from the post‑Revolution years to the late nineteenth century. Alexandre, a celebrated scholar, leaves a legacy of unfinished work on civil and religious institutions, while his son Fulgence builds wealth and champions the pope’s temporal power in the Second Empire. The brothers—Marc‑Alexandre, the ambitious officer; Gaétan, a country‐life aesthete; and René, a lawyer‑turned staunch defender of the persecuted Church—embody contrasting paths of duty, doubt, and devotion.

Through lively debates in the family’s grand drawing‑room, the novel explores how personal convictions clash with the shifting ideals of a nation wrestling with secularism, republicanism, and faith. As each brother confronts his own belief—or lack thereof—the narrative paints a vivid portrait of a family caught between inherited liberalism and the fervent struggles of a society in transition.