The Life of Louis XVI

Synopsis

Louis Xvi Of France, Who Was Guillotined In 1793 During The Revolution And Reign Of Terror, Is Commonly Portrayed In Fiction And Film Either As A Weak And Stupid Despot In Thrall To His Beautiful, Shallow Wife, Marie Antoinette, Or As A Cruel And Treasonous Tyrant. Historian John Hardman Disputes Both These Versions In A Fascinating New Biography Of The Ill-fated Monarch. Based In Part On New Scholarship That Has Emerged Over The Past Two Decades, Hardman's Illuminating Study Describes A Highly Educated Ruler Who, Though Indecisive, Possessed Sharp Political Insight Anda Talent For Foreign Policy; Who Often Saw The Dangers Ahead But Could Not Or Would Not Prevent Them; And Whose Great Misfortune Was To Be Caught In The Violent Center Of A Major Turning Point In History. Parentage And Ancestry -- Youth On The Throne -- The Bright Beginning, 1774-76 -- Drift Towards War, 1776-78 -- War And War Finance, 1778-82 -- The Embarrassments Of Peace,1783-85 -- Unravelling, 1785-86 -- Royal Revolution: The Assembly Of Notables Of 1787 -- The Road To The Estates-general, May 1787 To May 1789 -- The King And The Third Estate -- The Invasion Of A Palace -- The Revolution Caricatures Itself, October 1789 To June 1791 -- The Flight To Montmedy -- Playing By The Book Of The Constitution, 13 September 1791 To 10 August 1792 -- The Prisoner In The Temple. John Hardman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.