A fictionalised account of du Maurier's ancestors as they lived through the French Revolution. Told in the first person by a great-however-many-aunt, it's an interesting if frustrating read. I've not read a great deal set during this period, but most of what I have seems to focus on either the aristocracy or the peasants. The family here, however, seems well-to-do middle class, owners of glass factories, and for me it's a new perspective. It does make me lose some sympathy for many of their collective actions, though - it's less overthrowing the government to stave off starvation and exploitation, and more overthrowing the government for shits and giggles and to profit from the suffering of others. To be fair, the protagonist isn't quite as far gone as the worst of her brothers (and husband), and two of her siblings seem to be genuinely in it for altruistic reasons, but the giant, overshadowing figure in the book is brother Robert, who is such a selfish, destructive force in the lives of everyone around him that I simply can't understand why the protagonist continually keeps forgiving him. I suppose she must have loved him, but I did not.

On the bright side, he's dead now and that's probably a win for everyone.