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Books > Biography > Royalty
*Includes pictures of Robespierre and other important people,
places, and events in his life.
*Includes Robespierre's most famous and controversial quotes about
the French Revolution, Louis XVI, and more.
"Citizens, did you want a revolution without a revolution?" -
Maximilien Robespierre
A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most
influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the
trees? In Charles River Editors' French series, readers can get
caught up to speed on the lives of France's most important men and
women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning
interesting facts long forgotten or never known.
In many ways it is fitting that Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)
is one of the best known figures of the French Revolution, if not
its most famous. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by
Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste
system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages
over the lower classes. Few were as vocal in their support of
Enlightenment ideals as Robespierre, who was heavily versed in
Rousseau and Montesquieu, a champion of the bourgeoise, and an
advocate of human rights who opposed both slavery and the death
penalty.
But history remembers the French Revolution in a starkly different
way, as the same leaders who sought a more democratic system while
out of power devolved into establishing an incredibly repressive
tyranny of their own once they acquired it. For that reason, the
Reign of Terror became the most memorable aspect of the Revolution,
and at the head of it all was Robespierre, whose position on the
Committee of Public Safety made him the Reign of Terror's
instrumental figure, until he himself became a victim of the
Revolution's extremism.
Robespierre has remained one of the Revolution's most
controversial figures, an enigma in both life and death. Known as
"The Incorruptible" to supporters and a bloodthirsty dictator to
his opponents, what all could agree on was that he was a vital
figure during one of history's most momentous events. French
Legends: The Life and Legacy of Maximilien Robespierre looks at the
life and legacy of one of history's most famous revolutionaries,
explaining his role in the French Revolution and analyzing his
legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and
events, you will learn about Robespierre like you never have
before, in no time at all.
Of all Queen Victoria's nine children, none was more intriguing
than her second daughter, Alice. The contradictions in her
personality are so striking that, while she has often been
overshadowed by her more illustrious brother, King Edward VII, and
her brilliant sister, the German Empress Frederick, she remains to
this day an enigma, the depths of whose character are virtually
impossible to penetrate. By the time of her premature death at the
age of only thirty-five, Alice had lived through two wars, had lost
two of her children, and had exhausted herself in her devotion to
duty to the extent that she suffered from disillusionment almost to
the point of despair. Nonetheless, in the final tragic weeks of her
life, she met unimaginable grief with courage and serenity, and her
last words demonstrated her ultimate redemption and the beautiful
restoration of all she had loved and lost.
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1873 Edition.
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.
ANDREW ROSE'S "THE WOMAN BEFORE WALLIS" RECOUNTS THE UNTOLD
STORY OF PASSION, SCANDAL, AND DECADENCE BETWEEN A COURTESAN AND A
BRITISH PRINCE
Prince Edward was the King of England when he famously abdicated
his crown over his love for the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
But two decades earlier, he was an awkward and inexperienced young
man, socializing with Europe's elite while stationed behind the
lines during World War I. It was there he met the alluring
Marguerite Alibert, the queen of the Paris demimonde.
Marguerite had fought her way up from street gamine to a woman
"haut de gamme" to become one of the highest-ranking courtesans in
Paris. Prince Edward was instantly smitten, but their affair
eventually turned sour. Edward thought he was free of
Marguerite--until she murdered her husband, a wealthy Egyptian
playboy, by shooting him three times in the back at the Savoy Hotel
in London. With Marguerite on trial for murder, Edward was at risk
of having their affair exposed. What happened next was buried for
decades, uncovered now thanks to exceptional access to documents
held in the Royal Archives and private collections.
The Last Ruling Romanovs.... Much has been written about the life
of the last Imperial family of Russia: Tsar Nicholas II, his wife
Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children - Olga, Tatiana, Maria,
Anastasia and Aleksei. The entire family, including their personal
physician, retainers, and even their pets, became tragic victims of
the Bolshevik revolution. They were arrested, exiled, and
ultimately secretly murdered in a small cellar of a house in the
Urals, in the summer of 1918. In this book, you will follow the
events which led up to their eventual tragic fate through personal
words of each family member, as well as their close friends and
associates. Their letters, diaries, and postcards - many of which
have been translated into English here for the first time - tell a
unique story, and have yet a lot to reveal. Translated from Russian
by Helen Azar, along with Eva and Dan McDonald, who translated most
of the 1918 letters from French, this book offers an extraordinary
glimpse into the very private world, and the final years, of the
last Russian imperial family - which they chronicle in their own
words. This book is a great companion to the "The Diary of Olga
Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution," also by Helen
Azar.
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