John Hardman is one of the world’s leading experts on the French Revolution and the author of several well-regarded books on the subject. He was formerly lecturer in modern history at the University of Edinburgh.
“In a work which must currently rank as the definitive contribution
to our understanding of Louis XVI as a man and a monarch, Hardman
displays a quite extraordinary grasp of sources relating to the
court and to the high politics of the ancien régime.”—P.M. Jones,
English Historical Review
"An up-to-date, immensely erudite and compelling study, the fruit
of a lifetime’s work on the king. It is also crisply, sometimes
brilliantly,written. Hardman’s style is accessible, often witty,
and he has a gift for putting complex issues in a nutshell. Louis
XVI remains one of the crucial characters in modern history . . .
and this is now the best biography of him in any language."—Munro
Price, Literary Review
"Hardman has devoted much of his life to Louis XVI; some of the
excellent illustrations are of objects in his own collection. He
uses many new sources, such as papers of the Navy minister the
Marechal de Castries, and the magnificent diary of the ambassador
the Marquis de Bombelles, spanning the entire period
1780-1822."—Philip Mansel, Spectator
"This is the product of a lifetime's research and writing on late
eighteenth-century France by one of the foremost scholars of the
era. Original, gripping and authoritative, it is the best biography
in any language of Louis XVI, and a significant contribution
to the history of the French Revolution."—Munro Price, author
of The Perilous Crown: France Between Revolutions
"John Hardman has written a highly readable, well-paced biography
of Louis XVI which draws on the most recent scholarship on French
kingship and court politics. He shows sensitivity and sympathy for
a monarch who was not blind to what was happening around him but
who felt increasingly trapped by forces he could not control."—Alan
Forrest, author of Napoleon: Life, Legacy, and Image
"This new life of Louis XVI, by the world’s leading authority, not
only tells all the good stories with considerable verve, it also
offers insightful analyses of the politics of this tragic life that
began in the palace of Versailles and ended on the scaffold of the
Revolution. It is simply the most authoritative biography of Louis
XVI ever written."—Peter Campbell, former professor of French
History, University of Versailles
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