Louis XVI
This is not a general life-and-times biography of the man who was king of France from 1774 to 1792. The reader learns little of France outside Versailles and Paris. Indeed, in several chapters more space is given to such royal ministers as Maurepas, Necker, and Vergennes than to the king himself. What Hardman (history emeritus, Univ. of Edinburgh) offers, however, is a masterful analysis of the workings of the royal government in the waning years of the Old Regime and early years of the French Revolution. The research in archival sources is impressive. Hardman's portrait of the king reinforces the work of other recent historians. Louis XVI was not stupid or lazy, although he could be quiet or indecisive. Hardman convincingly demonstrates that by 1789 Louis XVI favored a constitutional monarchy and cooperation with the Third Estate. His failure to communicate these feelings to the Estates General in the spring of 1789 was a tragic error. For academic libraries.- T.J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., N.Y.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.