The Revolt of the Angels

First published in 1914, “The Revolt of the Angels” is one of the final works by celebrated French author and Nobel Prize winner Anatole France. Considered by many critics to be his most profound and significant work, it is the story of the angel Arcade who has grown tired of watching over a sinless Bishop. With nothing else to do, Arcade begins to read the books in the Bishop’s library and soon rejects God and decides to live as a man instead. The former angel moves to Paris, falls in love with a mortal woman, loses his wings, and conspires with Satan to overthrow God. Arcade realizes however that replacing God with another powerful being will accomplish nothing and instead he, and mankind as well, must change themselves and destroy the idea of God that they all carry within. Deeply ironic and thoughtful, “The Revolt of the Angels”, was met with controversy when it was first published and was placed on the list of banned books by the Catholic Church. It was a critical and commercial success however for challenging long-held ideas of religion and morality and continues to be widely read a century later for its thoughtful and perceptive examination of mankind’s ideas of divinity. This edition follows the translation on Wilfrid Jackson and includes a biographical afterword.