The Gold Sickle

The Gold Sickle opens Eugene Sue's vast historical cycle with a story that is both intimate and epic, following a proletarian family across the ages as a way to expose the shifting masks of power. Beginning in Gaul before and during the Roman conquest, the first tale introduces Joel, a thoughtful, good-hearted Gallic chief, on the eve of his daughter Hena's birthday as he travels home through the Breton landscape near the sacred Isle of Sen. Around this family drama, Sue builds a sweeping allegory of class conflict, social injustice, and human endurance, tracing oppression and resistance from antiquity through Rome, the Middle Ages, Joan of Arc, the French Revolution, and beyond. Rich in legend, satire, and social observation, the narrative evokes ancient customs, ritual, and royal authority, while also hinting at wit, status, and calculated cruelty. Rare in English, this opening volume promises a powerful historical romance in which the ordinary lives of the oppressed illuminate the broad movement of history and the changing forms of domination. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.