This Hungarian historical novel spans the 19th century including the European mid-century revolutions which pretty much burned out, as summed up in this pithy conclusion. Perhaps the more enduring light comes from slower burning revolutions.

‘Revolution blazes with a roaring flame, but the blinding light soon dies.’

Source: Lajos Zilahy, Century in Scarlet (London: Prion, 2001), p. 69

Image credit: Eugène Delacroix, c. 1830, La Liberté Guidant le Peuple, at Pixabay