The Arm and the Darkness [Mass Market Paperback]

Taylor Caldwell (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (February 12, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449236161
• ISBN-13: 978-0449236161
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,438,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eternal battle of good versus evil, May 11, 2002

By 

Iris369 "Iris369" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Arm and the Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

It is a unique experience to read a period piece and feel that when you're finished you have learned things that can easily be applied to your own world. Connecting history like that to the present is very amazing.
Set in pre-revolutionary France in the days of Cardinal Richelieu, Taylor Caldwell brings to life the man the forever changed France in ways surpassed by none other than perhaps Napolean Bonaparte. Each character comes from opposing religions, ideals, and childhood experiences and they influence eachother in very profound ways.
Besides feeling connected to a period so distant from us, this novel explores the possibilities of human interaction and how much a person can change. If you enjoy history as well as exploring our own humanity and relationships we forge, you will not be disappointed by this book. The beginning is very exciting then it staggers a bit, but it picks up right till the end. Truly, a great book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taylor Caldwell delivers her customary high quality, September 28, 1998

By 

strega2 "strega2" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arm and the Darkness (Hardcover)

Caldwell sets this novel in 17th century France, when the persecutions of the French Protestant Huguenots is about to resume after a hiatus of tolerance. She offers her usual vivid portraits of characters, especially the wily Cardinal Richelieu, and a vivid depiction of the bitterness of the poverty of Paris peasants. The novel culminates in the dreadful siege of Rochelle, which led to the Huguenots' mass exodus to the New World, where they founded New Rochelle. Caldwell's usual flaws are evident here--why is everone so "inexorable," so bitter, so alientated, so all-or-nothing in their approach? Still, this novel is a highly entertaining account of this turbulent period in French history, and Caldwell's many fans won't be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great plot by Caldwell, April 18, 2009

By 

Laura (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Arm and the Darkness (Mass Market Paperback)

As hostilities flare between Catholic and Huguenot, Cardinal Richelieu relentlessly pursues the favors of Queen Anne. The story tells the saga of two brothers, Arsene de Richepin and Monsieur de Rechepin, personal secretary of Cardinal Richelieu. They represent two opposite worlds which never will meet each other. The author has a similar style as Dumas in telling some historical facts, the pre-revolutionary ideas of Paul de Vitry and the high price he payed for this, the dramatic siege of La Rochelle by the french and english people.