This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
Now a major motion picture starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes
Lady Georgiana Spencer was the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was nearly as famous in her day. In 1774 Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying William Cavendish, fifth duke of Devonshire, one of England's richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen of fashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her time. But Georgiana's public success concealed an unhappy marriage, a gambling addiction, drinking, drug-taking, and rampant love affairs with the leading politicians of the day. With penetrating insight, Amanda Foreman reveals a fascinating woman whose struggle against her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determination to play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporary figure.

1884. This edition contains both Volumes I and II. Johnson, one of England's great literary figures and compiler of the first comprehensive English Dictionary, drew upon the journals of a Jesuit priest to weave this ironic tale of earthly paradise in the happy valley of Abyssinia. Johnson explores the theme of how one chooses the path to true happiness and concludes at the end of the book that it cannot be found in this life, but only after death when one has joined one's maker.

Although Louis XIV was a vitally important figure in European history, he has found no satisfactory biographer until now. The memorists, particularly Saint-Simon, have "fixed" the traditional image of Louis so firmly it is difficult to see him in any other light. John B. Wolf, challenging the myths and biases, has based this important study on Louis' own documents, his diaries, decrees, and hundreds of the king's letters from the archives at Vincennes (hereto-fore almost unexploited). He presents the king as he appeared to his ministers, his diplomats, and his soldiers, rather than to the gossips of his court.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The groundbreaking biography of one of the most progressive, influential and entertaining women of the seventeenth century, Christina Alexandra, Queen of Sweden. In 1654, to the astonishment and dismay of her court, Christina Alexandra announced her abdication in favour of her cousin, Charles. Instrumental in bringing the Thirty Years War to a close at the age of 22, Christina had become one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. She had also become notorious for her extravagant lifestyle. Leaving the narrow confines of her homeland behind her, Christina cut a remarkable path across Europe. She acted as mediator in the Franco-Spanish War and, in return for financial support, was received into the Roman Catholic Church despite the fierce condemnation of her protestant countrymen. Christina settled in Rome at the luxurious Palazzo Farnese where she established a lavish salon for Rome's artists and intellectuals. More than once she was forced to leave Rome while one scandal or another died down; she was painted a lesbian, a prostitute and even a hermaphrodite. Her most impassioned affair was with a well-connected Cardinal. Later, when financial support from the Pope and the Spanish crown dried up, Christina began to court French favour, eventually even plotting with them to overthrow the Spanish at Naples, where she hoped to be installed as queen. Despite her political vacillations and a lifelong refusal to restrain her appetites, Christina ended her days in Rome relatively free from disfavour and financial strife. At the express order of the Pope, she was buried, with full ceremony, in the walls of St Peter's Basilica, one of only two women to be so honoured. Reminiscent of Amanda Foreman's Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and Claire Tomalin's Jane Austen: A Life, Buckley combines a personal approach with a lively interest in the social and historical world of seventeenth-century Europe to bring this remarkable personality to life.

1901. King Alfred of England is one of the noblest of the sovereigns upon whom History has conferred the title of The Great. At the very beginning of the world-encircling history of the Anglo-Saxon race looms his majestic figure. We see him through the mist of ten centuries hurling back the invaders of his country, giving peace to his realm, ruling it with consummate wisdom, laboring arduously at the translation and composition of books that his subjects might receive the precious light of learning, codifying their laws that justice might prevail in the land, in short, building up out of his broken little dominions a kingdom destined to become the corner stone of the mighty British Empire. Contents: The Britons; The Anglo-Saxons; The Danes; Alfred's Early Years; State of England; Alfred's Accession to the Throne; Reverses; The Seclusion; Reassembling of the Army; The Victory over the Danes; Character of Alfred's Reign; The Close of Life; and Sequel.

The House of Windsor: Is it a hangover from the past, an expensive anachronism, a relic of a bygone age of deference and hierarchy, or is it as important and relevant as ever?

However you look at it, the royal family is a big business, though one with more ups and downs than the stock market. Prince Philip calls it "The Firm," and all the royal executives and their powerful associates are supposed to make every effort to avoid even a hint of scandal that could diminish the reputation of the family business.

Unfortunately for the royals, for the past twenty years scandal and controversy have deluged the Queen's family, putting everything at risk. Focusing primarily on the years after the death of Princess Diana and including the heir to the throne's marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince William's latest romance, acclaimed royal writer Penny Junor looks in depth at how the royal family has made itself the world's soap opera. "The Firm "reveals the answers to the questions that absorb the media around the world, disclosing how the family really behaves behind closed doors in this controversial and terri?cally readable book.

This powerful new biography presents a portrait of Anne Boleyn different from the unsavory and unflattering accounts of her that have come down through history. Instead, we learn about the real Anne-a woman who was highly literate, accomplished, an intellectual, and a devout defender of her Protestant faith. Anne's tragedy began when her looks and vivacious charm attracted the notice of England's violent and paranoid king whose love for her trapped her in the vicious politics of the Tudor court. This compelling account of Anne Boleyn plunges the reader into the intrigue, romance, and danger of King Henry VIII's court and the turbulent times that would change England forever. It will forever change our perception of this much-maligned queen.

For fans of Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, acclaimed author Nancy Goldstone's thrilling history of the royal daughters who succeeded in ruling--and shaping--thirteenth-century Europe
Set against the backdrop of the thirteenth century, a time of chivalry and crusades, troubadors, knights and monarchs, "Four Queens" is the story of four provocative sisters--Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice of Provence--who rose from near obscurity to become the most coveted and powerful women in Europe. Each sister in this extraordinary family was beautiful, cultured, and accomplished but what made these women so remarkable was that each became queen of a principal European power--France, England, Germany and Sicily. During their reigns, they exercised considerable political authority, raised armies, intervened diplomatically and helped redraw the map of Europe. Theirs is a drama of courage, sagacity and ambition that re-examines the concept of leadership in the Middle Ages.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The tragic true story of Japan's Crown Princess-with a new afterword by the author.
It's the fantasy of many young women: marry a handsome prince, move into a luxurious palace, and live happily ever after. But that's not how it turned out for Masako Owada. Ben Hills's fascinating portrait of Princess Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on research in Tokyo and rural Japan, at Oxford and Harvard, and from more than sixty interviews with Japanese, American, British, and Australian sources-many of whom have never spoken publicly before-shedding light on the royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be openly discussed in Japan because of the reverence in which the emperor and his family are held. But most of all, this is a story about a love affair that went tragically wrong.
The paperback edition will contain a new afterword by the author, discussing the impact this book had in Japan, where it was banned.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

Originally published in 1898. Author: Thomas Carlyle Language: English Keywords: Literature/ History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.