A thought-provoking, authoritative biography of one of history’s most maligned rulers: France’s Louis XVI   “The definitive contribution to our understanding of Louis XVI as a man and a monarch.�—P. M. Jones, English Historical Review   “Monumental. . . . Scholars probing the mysteries of the late Old Regime and French Revolution will be working in its shadow for many years to come.�—Thomas E. Kaiser, Journal of Modern History   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 and a 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.   Hardman’s dramatic reassessment of the reign of Louis XVI sheds a bold new light on the man, his actions, his world, and his policies, including the king’s support for America’s War of Independence, the intricate workings of his court, the disastrous Diamond Necklace Affair, and Louis’s famous dash to Varennes.

This book presents the regenerative leadership framework that has emerged from doctoral research and consulting work with successful sustainability leaders and their organizations in business, education, and community. The framework synthesizes the levels of awareness, the leadership styles and behaviours, and the organizational arrangements that correlate most significantly across these domains. Most importantly, the overwhelming majority of the leaders in this work agree that individual and collective consciousness development is critical to transforming the culture of organizations for sustainability and beyond. The term regenerative has not been chosen arbitrarily, but to provide an alternative to the notion of sustainability, which many of the leaders featured here indicate has become insufficient to describe what needs to be done, economically, socially, and environmentally, if we are to ensure a flourishing world for present and future generations. This work in turn has led to the development of the Regenerative Capacity Index (RCI), a tool designed to assess an organization's readiness to engage in regenerative practice. From this evaluation of an organization's regenerative capacity, it becomes possible to design a strategy for regeneration that considers all levels of its environmental, social, and economic impact, both internally and externally, in the local and global community. Among its major findings, the book argues that the more evolved sustainability leaders are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the construct of sustainability, and indicate the need for a profound cultural shift towards regenerative human systems. In this framework, regenerative organizations are driven by a sense higher purpose, and leadership is exercised horizontally and collaboratively. Leaders and followers engage in generative conversations to create desirable futures which are then 'backcasted' to eliminate unanticipated consequences. Throughout, leaders emphasize the critical importance of engaging in personal and collective consciousness development or "inner work" in order to make regenerative practices possible.

Robespierre was one of the most powerful and the most feared leaders of the French Revolution. John Hardman describes the career of this ruthless political manipulator, and in the process explores the dynamics of the French revolutionary movement and the ferocious and self-destructive rivalries of its leadership.This original book gets behind the polished but chilly surface of the public persona to reveal how Robespierre came by his extraordinary power and how he used it.

A new look which fundamentally overturns our understanding of this famously "out of touch" queen "Presents [Marie-Antoinette] as much more than a symbol whose meaning is in the eye of her beholder . . . neither martyr nor voluptuary but rather a serious participant in politics."-Lynn Hunt, New York Review of Books "Splendid. . . . Masterly. . . . A wonderfully gripping biography."-Allan Massie, Wall Street Journal Named a Book of the Year (2020) by The Spectator Who was the real Marie-Antoinette? She was mistrusted and reviled in her own time, and today she is portrayed as a lightweight incapable of understanding the events that engulfed her. In this new account, John Hardman redresses the balance and sheds fresh light on Marie-Antoinette's story. Hardman shows how Marie-Antoinette played a significant but misunderstood role in the crisis of the monarchy. Drawing on new sources, he describes how, from the outset, Marie-Antoinette refused to prioritize the aggressive foreign policy of her mother, Maria-Theresa, bravely took over the helm from Louis XVI after the collapse of his morale, and, when revolution broke out, listened to the Third Estate and worked closely with repentant radicals to give the constitutional monarchy a fighting chance. For the first time, Hardman demonstrates exactly what influence Marie-Antoinette had and when and how she exerted it.

A provincial lawyer from Arras, Robespierre dominated France at the height of the Revolution, the event that more than any other, shaped modern French history.

As a title in the very popular Profiles in Power series, this is not a biography, though inevitably it contains much biographical material, it instead analyzes the major features, achievements and failures of Robespierre's career.

This book presents the regenerative leadership framework that has emerged from doctoral research and consulting work with successful sustainability leaders and their organizations in business, education, and community. The framework synthesizes the levels of awareness, the leadership styles and behaviours, and the organizational arrangements that correlate most significantly across these domains. Most importantly, the overwhelming majority of the leaders in this work agree that individual and collective consciousness development is critical to transforming the culture of organizations for sustainability and beyond. The term regenerative has not been chosen arbitrarily, but to provide an alternative to the notion of sustainability, which many of the leaders featured here indicate has become insufficient to describe what needs to be done, economically, socially, and environmentally, if we are to ensure a flourishing world for present and future generations. This work in turn has led to the development of the Regenerative Capacity Index (RCI), a tool designed to assess an organization's readiness to engage in regenerative practice. From this evaluation of an organization's regenerative capacity, it becomes possible to design a strategy for regeneration that considers all levels of its environmental, social, and economic impact, both internally and externally, in the local and global community. Among its major findings, the book argues that the more evolved sustainability leaders are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the construct of sustainability, and indicate the need for a profound cultural shift towards regenerative human systems. In this framework, regenerative organizations are driven by a sense higher purpose, and leadership is exercised horizontally and collaboratively. Leaders and followers engage in generative conversations to create desirable futures which are then 'backcasted' to eliminate unanticipated consequences. Throughout, leaders emphasize the critical importance of engaging in personal and collective consciousness development or "inner work" in order to make regenerative practices possible.

A major new biography of Antoine Barnave—the politician and writer who advocated for a constitutional monarchy in revolutionary France   Antoine Barnave was one of the most influential statesmen in the early French Revolution. He was a didactic man of austere morals and vaulting ambition who dressed as an English dandy, running up considerable tailor’s bills. Before his execution at age thirty-two, he played a decisive role in revolutionary politics and even governed France in 1791 through a secret correspondence with Marie-Antoinette.   In the first biography for more than a century, John Hardman traces Barnave’s life from his youth in Dauphiné to his role in the Constituent Assembly and his part in forming the Feuillants, the party dedicated to the moderate cause. Despite his early death, Barnave left a remarkable volume of material, from published works to thousands of manuscript pages. Hardman uses this rich archive to explore the life of this elusive writer, politician, and thinker—and sheds new light on the revolutionary period.

More Than A Game - Part 1 - Behind The Ashes Synopsis It is 2035. The most anticipated Ashes cricket series between England and Australia is to begin in ten days time. The Australian squad arrives in London and is immediately the victim of a seemingly random bomb blast at the team's hotel. An Aussie team member is killed and the captain, Andrew Harcourt, is slightly injured. The current England captain Kim Fairbanks, the first woman to play test cricket, and who has almost single-handedly dragged the British team from the depths of despair back to the top of the world rankings, and Harcourt, meet for the first time a few days after the bombing. Fairbanks' popularity is such that the crowds flock to every game in unprecedented numbers, and Harcourt's determination keeps the series at fever pitch. As the series goes ahead a relationship between the two captains develops in secret. Kim is a divorcee with two young children and Andrew has been separated from his wife for some time. The Harcourt's have a seven year old son. The British policeman investigating the incident at the hotel, Detective Inspector Shaw and a former French Secret Service agent, Yves Baschante, now a member of a covert international organization that specializes in such cases, discover that the man behind the attack is Erik Kahn, a notorious Pakistani bookmaker - a man with a lot of money riding on the result of the series. They also discover that three members of the Australian touring party are in some way involved with Kahn. Shaw and Baschante, along with Kim's father, Alistair Richards, a former S.A.S major, pursue Kahn and his cronies across Asia and set up a sting operation to take them into custody and bring them back to England - outside of the normal legal system. The result of the Ashes series comes down to the final match at Lords and on the morning of the final day with the match up for grabs, a London newspaper exposes the 'Kim and Drew' affair. The pair have to deal with their own emotions while still doing their job, captaining their countries to victory. Kahn, his financial empire in ruins when he learns the result of the series, is finally caught and brought to justice, as are the three Australians.

The Bush Adventure - Synopsis Part one - The Rescue One morning Aan-dew, a small bush potoroo, hears a desperate sound coming from some distance away. Overcoming his fear of the dangers his grandmother has always warned him about, he sets off to find out what - or who - is in trouble. He finds a baby creature about to be attacked by a vicious crow. Able to frighten the crow off temporarily, Aan-dew tries to help the infant. As evening approaches he digs out a shelter under a rock for them both where they spend a terrifying night together. The next morning, a pair of rabbit sisters who are friends of Aan-dew's, find him and with the help of some other friendly animals, devise a plan to take the baby to safety. The rabbits have an amazing knowledge of languages and soon decide that the infant is a fledgling magpie. The rabbit sisters are also able to help when the baby's mother eventually finds them. The problem is how to move the infant Nai-nee to safety, as she cannot fly and the adult birds are unable to carry her to their nest. The next two days are filled with more excitement and much late night story telling in their makeshift shelter, until the decision is finally made to take the infant to the relative safety of Aan-dew's home on the far side of the hill. Part two - The Storm As plans are laid to return Nai-nee to her mother's nest, there are further adventures including more threats and attacks by the crows, narrow escapes from a fox, a frightening experience with tall two legged creatures carrying sticks, and the arrival of several other rabbit and potoroo family members and friends. Then a terrifying storm breaks, bringing a night of fear and devastation. At the height of the storm, the potoroos and the infant bird are in danger of drowning in their flooding home until they receive timely assistance from the adult magpies. After their recovery from the storm, plans are made to help Nai-nee return to her family. Aan-dew's cousin, a small female tree kangaroo named Gem-ma, is enlisted and is happy to attempt the climb with the infant in her pouch. Part Three - The Climb The animals and birds train for many days, with every animal and magpie allocated a different task to ensure that the final attempt goes smoothly. The magpie family promises to protect Gem-ma from any other marauding birds. The following days and nights are filled with hard work, more adventures and some outrageous night-time story telling until the big day arrives. Unfortunately, the friends do not know that the crows, who have been watching their progress, have enlisted the help of a flock of butcherbirds to attack Gem-ma during the climb. When she is knocked from her position and snared in some branches, Aan-dew, without thinking, overcomes his fear of heights and dashes up the tree to help. The cowardly crows refuse to help the butcherbirds and eventually the magpies, with Aan-dew's help, overcome the odds.

The reign of Louis XVI, which ended with the guillotining of Louis and his queen, Marie Antoinette, in 1793, is a dramatic and crucial part of French history. John Hardman presents the first complete and authoritative biography of Louis XVI, a poignant tale that recounts how the King's stature grew as his power declined.

The Assembly of Notables which met between 22 February and 25 May 1787 was a major turning point in French, even world history: it was the first link in an unbroken chain which led to the French Revolution, which itself formed the template for the modern world.
The reform programme which finance minister Calonne, with the full backing of Louis XVI, presented to a hand-picked Assembly of Notables would have transformed France. She would have ended up with a Napoleonic system: equality without liberty. Since that is what she got in the end, after wading through oceans of blood, it might have been better if she had taken the shorter route. Liberty, however, in 1787 was valued more highly than equality and the Notables mercilessly exploited this preference to defeat Calonne and the king. By 1789, equality was back on the agenda and remained there through the vicissitudes of the coming years - but too late for Calonne (who was in exile) or for the king, who never recovered from the blow the Notables had dealt him.
In the light of modern scholarship and the latest archival information, John Hardman integrates the various facets of this seminal assembly, which are often considered in isolation (the king, the royal council, the Notables, the role of Necker, and that of public opinion) into a lucid analytical narrative, interspersed with the Notables' critique of Calonne's measures as they were successively presented to them.

Louis XVI was the principal actor in the French Revolution. He is an enigmatic character, and classroom opinion on whether he deserved the guillotine would probably be divided. Louis unwittingly ushered in the Revolution that ended both his life and the ancien regime by his convocation of the Estates-General. Thereafter, he became, in the eyes of the Right, insufficiently willing to uphold the status quo, and in the eyes of the Left, a hostile figure colluding with France's enemies. This study explores the perceptions contemporaries had of Louis, both before and during the Revolution, and examines historians' subsequent attempts to define his character and role. It demonstrates not only how far ideological presuppositions must inevitably colour the result but also how far fresh evidence and an enlarged sense of what constitutes a legitimate historical source has changed present views of one of France's least fortunate kings.

This collection of original documents examines the constitutional and political problems of France between 1785-1795. Focusing on the period from the last years of the ancien regime to the fall of Robespierre and the Thermidorian Reaction, it traces the unsuccessful search for a political consensus and the struggle to defend the Rule of Law, and examines two central characters to the Revolution, Louis XVI and Robespierre. This edition has been updated and revised, new material includes a focus on the doubts and threats that assailed the ancien regime in its final years and an examination of the bloody climax of the Revolution.