Friday, May 21, 2010

Non-Fiction: The Royal Family

Louis XVI

The Life and Death of Louis XVI Saul K. Padover

A sympathetic biography that tells the story of the king and father, his life, his family, and his final days.

The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. The Revolution by David P. Jordan

A riveting account of the turbulent years of 1792-1793, and what the author considers one of the most significant trials in the French Revolution.

Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and the French Revolution (Rulers and Their Times) by Nancy Plain

A children's book that tries to tackle the three subjects of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the French Revolution all at once.

Louis XVI by John Hardman.

Hardman paints a portrait of the king that is not the dumb nor lazy caricature that some historians portray. This book also gives a masterful analysis the royal government during the last years of the old regime and the early years of the revolution.

Louis XVI: The Silent King (Reputations) by John Hardman

Another book about Louis XVI by Hardman, this work draws from new evidence from Louis XVI's letters and other correspondence, giving a new reconstruction on the king's political thoughts, character, and personality.

Regicide and Revolution: Speeches at the Trial of Louis XVI by Micheal Walzer

Walzer defends the trial and public execution of Louis XVI as an essential part of the French Revolution - as it not only tried to destroy the mystique of the monarchy, but it required the revolutionary deputies to apply their rules of judicial process to establish equality in the eyes of the law.

Marie Therese Charlotte

Marie Therese: Child of Terror by Susan Nagel *

An engaging biography about the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the sole survivor of the royal family in the Temple Prison. This biography also touches on the myth of the "Dark Countess," and briefly on the fate of Louis Charles, the dauphin.

Marie Antoinette's Daughter by Alice Desmond

An older biography of Marie Therese Charlotte.

Louis Charles
The Lost King of France: How DNA solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury *

Both biography of Louis Charles' short life and an investigation into his possible rescue and ultimate fate, this book takes off when it describes the many men who claimed to be the "lost" dauphin, their attempts to contact the royal family or even set up a court of their own, and finally the DNA evidence that was finally used to put the case - in most people's eyes - to rest.


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