Books with author Alice Birkhead

A beautiful retelling of the pivotal events of the French Revolution, full illustrated and perfect as an introduction to one of the more important events in European history that shaped Western Civilization. Fully illustrated to enhance the reading experience. Contents include:The Court of the Sun-KingJean-Jacques Rousseau, DreamerThe Lighted CandleBefore the DelugeThe Cardinal and the NecklaceThe First ProcessionThe Marquis of Mirabeau, Maker of a RevolutionThe Fall of the BastilleThe LanternTo VersaillesFrom VersaillesRed Heels and Red BonnetsThe Night of SpursMarie, Wife of RolandThe March of the MarseillaisThe HostagesThe Month of SeptemberThe Iron ChestThe Fall of the GirondeThe Trial of Capet's WidowThe Reign of TerrorThe IncorruptibleThermidorThe Little ApprenticeAfter the DelugeThe EmigrantsFor God and the King!The First Consul

A beautiful introduction to some of the most seminal figures in early-modern and modern European history. Illustrated to enhance the reading experience, this eBook is an excellent survey of the major historical figures that have proven to shape our world. Contents include:The Two SwordsDante, the Divine PoetLorenzo the MagnificentThe Prior of San MarcoMartin Luther, Reformer of the ChurchCharles V, Holy Roman EmperorThe Beggars of the SeaWilliam the Silent, Father of his CountryHenry of NavarreUnder the Red RobeThe Grand MonarchPeter the GreatThe Royal RobberSpirits of the AgeThe Man from Corsica"God and the People""For Italy and Victor Emmanuel!"The Third NapoleonThe Reformer of the EastThe Hero in History

VersaillesHere, in the palace gardens, where the stately fountains play,And a quiet sunshine bathes the land in the balm of an April day,It is pleasant to sit and dream, awhile of the things that have passed away.For if much has changed, there is much remains and half of the trees that growWere planted here in the Bourbon days, when a king was a king, you knowAnd they watched them, all the women and men who walked here long ago;Duke and Marquis and Abbe, who lounged on the terrace stair,With a stately bow to the wise and great, and a nod to Moliere;And dainty dames with the tarnished names, and the smiles and the powdered hair.Ah! life was life in the palace then, and the world was a gallant place,With the polished ways and the pungent phrase and the ruffles, and swords, and lace,And sin was hardly a thing to shun when it beckoned with such a grace.Music and wit and laughter, and pleasure enthroned in state,And the gardens bright with a fairy light at many a summer fete;And ruin and famine and death and Hell not half a mile from the gate.!Hell, and they couldn't see it! Death, and they only played!For a serf—why a serf was born to serve, and a monarch to be obeyed;Till the tumbrels came and the guillotine: but at least they were not afraid.Shadows among the shadows, they flit through the checkered ways,And the long, straight walks, where the elm-trees grow, and the time-worn statues gazeSilent and cold, and grey and old, like the ghosts of forgotten days.Kindly, blundering Louis, and beautiful Antoinette,With the royal face, and the human heart, and the tears—could we but forget!Down there is the little Trianon; perhaps we shall see her yetPoor girl-queen! It's hard to be great; and you tried, and we can but try:But what you took for the Truth and France was only a painted lie:Did you know it at last, and understand, when the time had come to die?Nay, I trust you did: for if Truth brings pain, I hold it is better far,Were it only once, for a moment's space, like the flash of a falling star,To pierce the cloud that has dimmed our eyes, and to see things as they are.For a "sunshine king" is a rosily thing when monarch and man are blind,And somebody reaps the whirlwind when others have sowed the wind,And if death and famine stalk through the land, it isn't enough to be kind.King and Queen, who were boy and girl, long since, ere the die was cast,Was it all a riddle too hard to solve? Poor souls! You have wept and passed,And after the din and the strife and sin there is peace, we hope, at the last.And now the Tricolour triumphs where once the Lilies reigned;Its red is red with a sea of blood, and the white—ah! the white is stained,But a giant lie has been swept away, and France and the world have gained.

After the fall of the Tuileries, the Girondin ministry had come into power again. Once more they gathered in Mme Roland's salon. Brissot, the Norman deputy, was all for the war that would compel the King to declare his policy. Louis might take the opportunity of aiding the party of Revolution, or he might declare himself openly against it, in which case it would be easy to call him traitor and set up a Republic. Handsome Barbaroux had called for volunteers and met the gallant response from Marseilles. Buzot, who won the heart of Marie-Jeanne Roland from a husband, elderly now and growing enfeebled, was also an advanced Girondin. They had enemies in the Assembly and enemies in Paris. There was the Commune or Municipality, which claimed to direct the actions of the Revolution. It had been foremost in the attack on the Tuileries and was violent through success. Secretly appointed, the members were bold in their demands. They despised the older body, and condemned its powers as feeble. They had overthrown the King and saved the people by that gallant rush to the royal palace when the prudent would have stayed them. They were going to have their way, and show Roland and his men what force could do to crush the treason of these aristocrats, with the monarchs of Europe in alliance...

The Library of Alexandria is an independent small business publishing house. We specialize in bringing back to live rare, historical and ancient books. This includes manuscripts such as: classical fiction, philosophy, science, religion, folklore, mythology, history, literature, politics and sacred texts, in addition to secret and esoteric subjects, such as: occult, freemasonry, alchemy, hermetic, shamanism and ancient knowledge. Our books are available in digital format. We have approximately 50 thousand titles in 40 different languages and we work hard every single day in order to convert more titles to digital format and make them available for our readers. Currently, we have 2000 titles available for purchase in 35 Countries in addition to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Our titles contain an interactive table of contents for ease of navigation of the book. We sincerely hope you enjoy these treasures in the form of digital books.

Excerpt from Marie AntoinetteAbout the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Heroes of Modern EuropeOutwardly, Europe of the Middle Ages presented a sad contrast to the magnificence of an Empire which was fading to remoteness year by year. The ugly towns did not attempt to hide their squalor, when dirt was such a natural condition of life that a knight would dwell boastfully upon his contempt for cleanliness, and a beauty display hands innocent of all proper tending. The dress of the people was ill-made and scanty, lacking the severe grace of the Roman toga. Furniture was rudely hewn from wood and placed on floors which were generally uneven and covered with straw instead of being paved with tessellated marble.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.