The Last Communard - Adrien Lejeune, the Unexpected Life of a Revolutionary

**A portrait of a man caught up in the Paris commune and the major historical events of the twentieth century** Adrien Lejeune died in Siberia, 1942, fleeing moscow from the invading Nazis. It was not until 1971 that his ashes were finally returned to Paris and laid to rest at the Communard's burial ground in Pere LaChaise cemetery. one hundred years beforehand, Lejeune had stood on the barricades of the Paris Commune, fighting for liberation of the city and a new future. He only just avoided execution when the uprising was eventually defeated.__The Last Communard__ tells the story of Lejeune's life from that moment of youthful rebellion. It shows how it intertwined with the global history of revolution. First imprisoned for his treason, he was later celebrated in Soviet russia, made a hero within the dramas of interwar France, aban-doned in the storms leading up to the Second World War. Gavin Bowd's stunning narrative shows how an individual life can be... The story of an unexpected hero The Last Communard offers a brilliant, striking portrait of revolutionary Europe through a remarkable personal story. In 1871, Adrien Lejeune fought on the barricades of the Paris Commune. He was imprisoned for treason when the Commune fell and narrowly avoided execution for his role in the struggle for a new future. In later life, he immigrated to Soviet Russia, finding fame as a revolutionary icon. In his native country, he was vaunted as a hero, a touchstone of revolutions past during France's interwar dramas. Abandoned by the Soviet regime, he languished, fortunes foundering, in Russia. Having led a long and extraordinary life, he died in Siberia in 1942 while fleeing Moscow as the Nazi armies swept across western Russia. It was another thirty years before he returned to Paris, his ashes coming to rest in the Communards' plot of the Pere Lachaise cemetery, on the centennial of the uprising, a symbol of France's undying radical tradition. Gavin Bowd's stunning narrative shows how an individual can be swept up in the fierce tides of history, and at the same time be defined by his own efforts to force those tides into a different, and better, course. Lejeune's life captures war and revolution in a tumultuous period of European history. From the Hardcover edition The story of an unexpected hero The Last Communard offers a brilliant, striking portrait of revolutionary Europe through a remarkable personal story. In 1871, Adrien Lejeune fought on the barricades of the Paris Commune. He was imprisoned for treason when the Commune fell and narrowly avoided execution for his role in the struggle for a new future. In later life, he immigrated to Soviet Russia, finding fame as a revolutionary icon. In his native country, he was vaunted as a hero, a touchstone of revolutions past during France’s interwar dramas. Abandoned by the Soviet regime, he languished, fortunes foundering, in Russia. Having led a long and extraordinary life, he died in Siberia in 1942 while fleeing Moscow as the Nazi armies swept across western Russia. It was another thirty years before he returned to Paris, his ashes coming to rest in the Communards’ plot of the Père Lachaise cemetery, on the centennial of the uprising, a symbol of France’s undying radical tradition. Gavin Bowd’s stunning narrative shows how an individual can be swept up in the fierce tides of history, and at the same time be defined by his own efforts to force those tides into a different, and better, course. Lejeune’s life captures war and revolution in a tumultuous period of European history. A portrait of a man caught up in the Paris commune and the major historical events of the twentieth century. Adrien Lejeune died in Siberia, 1942, fleeing Moscow from the invading Nazis. It was not until 1971 that his ashes were finally returned to Paris and laid to rest at the Communards burial ground in Pere LaChaise cemetery. one hundred years beforehand, Lejeune had stood on the barricades of the Paris Commune, fighting for liberation of the city and a new future. He only just avoided execution when the uprising was eventually defeated. The Last Communard tells the story of Lejeunes life from that moment of youthful rebellion. It shows how it intertwined with the global history of revolution. First imprisoned for his treason, he was later celebrated in Soviet Russia, made a hero within the dramas of interwar France, abandoned in the storms leading up to the Second World War. Gavin Bowds stunning narrative shows how an individual life can be swept up in the fierce tides of history. This book provides a narrative of the life and work of Adriene Lejeune. Beginning with his birth in Bagnolet in 1847, it traces his role in the uprising of the Paris Commune, his immigration to Russia, his life in the Soviet Union, his flight to Siberia in 1941 in the wake of the Nazi invasion of western Russia and his death there in 1942 Introduction: From One Wall To Another -- Birth Of A Communard -- Lejeune, Communard -- After The Commune -- Lejeune In The Ussr -- Death Of A Communard -- The Return Of Lejeune -- Ends Of The Commune. Gavin Bowd. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.