Louise Michel
Edited by Nic MallehanReviewed by Betty Wood
As a lifelong Socialist and Feminist I was ashamed to realise that I knew little or nothing about Louise Michel, Anarchist and Revolutionary Feminist, or about the roles of women in the 1871 uprising in Paris, when the population established the Paris Commune - a short-lived worker's government.
This book is one in a Rebel Lives Series. A few have been published but Louise Michel is the first I have read. Judging from it, the publishers have definitely succeeded in their aim of publishing a series of inexpensive, accessible and provocative books concerning remarkable women and men whose radicalism has been concealed or forgotten.
Louise Michel is in an easy to read format, either for dipping into or reading from start to finish at one go. The chapters are short and succint and are made more interesting by being interleaved with poetry and song and also by offering commentary from others, both of Michel's time, and of our own.
Everything we need to know for an understanding of her life and times is covered, and we are also provided with other avenues to explore if we are stimulated to deepen our knowledge. Stimulated I certainly was - nearly every page mentioned something which I felt like following up.
This book has certainly kindled my desire to read more of the series and also to learn more about the Paris Commune.
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