Executioners All: Memoirs Of The Sanson Family From Private Notes And Documents 1688 - 1847

by Henri Sanson

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Genres: History, Nonfiction, French Revolution, Historical, France

256 pages

First published January 1, 1862

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sanson's were executioners that served the government of France from 1688 through 1847, passing the profession and position from father to son. This collection of memoirs, put together by the last in the long line of executioners, covers their history up until the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793.

Although grim, the subject is fascinating. The author gives accounts of some of the sensational crimes of the 18th century, his ancestor's involvement in their executions, and the deportment of the condemned before their death.

We see the barbarity of the punishments administered at the time, where torture before death was common and decapitation was seen as humane. It gives the reader a great appreciation of the prohibition of 'cruel and unusual punishment' in modern society.

The humanity of the men whose job it was to administer the horrible punishments decided on by the government (whether it be the monarchy or the French revolutionaries) is contrasted against the deadly profession it was their duty to perform.

We are given a new perspective of the attitudes of the day concerning executions and those who carried them out. The origin of the guillotine, its conception and purpose, are especially of interest.

All in all, this is a book that opens your mind and gets you thinking.

It is available online at the Internet Archive:

http://archive.org/stream/memoirsofsa...

[Almudena Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una fascinante colección de historias sobre los Sanson, verdugos del rey de Francia, narrados por el nieto del famoso Charles Henri Sanson. La versión que he obtenido, en inglés, está mutilada por el traductor, que decidió librarse aleatoriamente de «elementos irrelevantes», así que un día tendré que recurrir a la original para comprobar si una traducción tan poco fiable no ha cambiado también elementos del propio relato. Por lo demás, y siempre teniendo en cuenta que este libro fue escrito probablemente por motivos económicos, además del deseo de desterrar mitos surgidos alrededor de la familia, es una lectura fascinante... y morbosa. En lugar de seguir un orden cronológico , el autor antepone ejecuciones famosas, narradas al detalle, aunque ello le obligue a regresar, después, a analizar aspectos de los verdugos que todavía no habían presentado. Lo que he encontrado más interesante ha sido cómo permite que nos acerquemos un poco al día a día de las gentes del XVIII, a los ridículos dramas administrativos que conllevaba el oficio, a curiosidades como que Charles Henri Sanson vistiera tan bien que estableció una moda a seguir en la corte, o a ver cómo una persona profundamente cristiana convivía con el hecho de ser un verdugo... y el aislamiento social que ello implica.

[Lennart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vielleicht 3,5 Sterne.
Es gibt Passagen die habe ich sehr gerne gelesen und es gibt Passagen die musste ich überspringen vor Langeweile.
Die privaten Entwicklungen sind sehr unterhaltsam geschrieben, wahrscheinlich ja auch von Balzac oder Dumas. Die Hinrichtungen sind am Anfang auch spannend, nehmen aber während und nach der Revolution deutlich an Bedeutung ab.
Irgendwann ist es einfach immer das gleiche. Person xy wird wegen irgendwas belanglosem zum Tode verurteilt. Hängt in der Concierge ab und ist meistens sehr tapfer und quatscht locker mit einem der Sansons.
Hätte mir mehr privaten Alltag erhofft, mehr von Napoleon und etwas weniger „unbedeutende“ Hinrichtungen.

[Kristine Skarsbak · Rating 5 out of 5]

En samling av historier som aldri skulle bli hørt, skrevet av mennesker som ble bannlyst til mørke hus på utsiden av byen selvom de var høyre hånden til kongemakten sagt til å bli valgt av Gud selv. Det er litt som et eventyr; en mann forelsker seg og leder sine fremtids generasjoner inn i fordervelse mot sin vilje som om guden han endte opp med å gjøre møkkajobben til straffet hans for hans begjær. Og nå, i en liten grav på Paris’ Montmartre gravplass, ligger mennene denne boka handler om. Diskre, ikke som de grassale familie gravene som omringet dem. Gjemt bort selv i død. Men dette memoar som en liten rettferdiggjørelse skrevet av den siste blant de fordervede.
Faen meg bangin da!!

[Zora L. Kastner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What humans are capable of.

I really enjoyed reading this.
Yes, it was gruesome, and more than once I had to put it away to make something more... positive, but this realness, this immediate pull into those old times, all the things Sanson felt and what he noticed on his convicts.
If you have the stomach for it and love to get an extremely personal inside into this very real past, you shouldn't miss this book. It doesn't spare you the details and for that I like it. For it's honesty.

I can hardly imagine another book that gives you this direct link to the old methods of torture and the switch to the guillotine. What it did to people. And I like it even more because it gives a face and personality to the executioner that just a diary can.

It is highly interesting in it's terrible way.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

o

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and my copy had pages falling out, it was so beaten up.... but it was such a powerful and well written book.... I need to revisit it in the future.