num_pages: 272
description: In the seventeenth century most educated Europeans took it for granted that monarchy was the best form of government. Across Europe monarchy was the norm from the kings of England and France in the west to the tsar of all the Russians in the east. But despite the widespread belief that kings were part of the natural order of things the mid-seventeenth century saw the execution of Charles I and the abolition of the monarchy in England and a civil war in France which seemed to threaten to overturn of the French monarchy.John Miller's entertaining and scholarly book is a rare comparison of monarchy in France and England during the seventeenth century showing the weaknesses which led to civil war in both countries and the resilience which enabled the monarchies to emerge from their respective crises and go from strength to strength in the later part of the century. This is a highly original work which covers new ground questions received assumptions and shows the importance of personalities and abilities of key characters in influencing the course of events. In contrast to the conventional picture of the Sun King Louis XIV's apparent mastery of French government is shown to be in many respects superficial and ephemeral. On the other hand the English monarchy is shown as in some ways strengthened by the experience of civil war. The book also reveals clearly that there was often a vast gulf between the King's ideas of how monarchy should be and the way in which it actually worked  both Charles I and Louis XIV became increasingly isolated from their subjects and from the real world.Through the text John Miller has included lively and entertaining pen-portraits of the various kings and those most closely associated with them. This colourful background puts key characters of the age into wider context and shows clearly how closely the private lives of individual monarchs were related to decision-making.Above all this fascinating and wide-ranging account suggests fundamental differences between France and England which explain why English monarchy recovered from the mid-century crisis and still survives today while the French monarchy came to grief in the Revolution.Bourbon and Stuart is essential reading for anyone interested in the seventeenth century and the key personalities of the age.
language: English
title: Bourbon and Stuart
publisher: Philip's