The Measure of the World by Denis Guedj, University of Chicago Press,
£17.50, ISBN 0226310302
Measurements in the France of the Ancien Régime were chaotic. Length,
for instance, could be given in units based on the size of a royal foot; or wine
in six different quantities. There were 800 or so measures in use. Guedj’s novel
is the story of the origin of the metre, a seemingly dull subject. Wrong. It’s a
tale of adventure, drama, comedy and danger and its background is the turbulence
and terror of the French Revolution.
The Revolutionary government, fired by high ideals…
