The Life of Louis XVI

by John Hardman

Overview

A thought-provoking, authoritative biography of one of history’s most maligned rulers: France’s Louis XVI
 
“The definitive contribution to our understanding of Louis XVI as a man and a monarch.”—P. M. Jones, English Historical Review
 
“Monumental. . . . Scholars probing the mysteries of the late Old Regime and French Revolution will be working in its shadow for many years to come.”—Thomas E. Kaiser, Journal of Modern History
 
Louis XVI of France, who was guillotined in 1793 during the Revolution and Reign of Terror, is commonly portrayed in fiction and film either as a weak and stupid despot in thrall to his beautiful, shallow wife, Marie Antoinette, or as a cruel and treasonous tyrant. Historian John Hardman disputes both these versions in a fascinating new biography of the ill-fated monarch. Based in part on new scholarship that has emerged over the past two decades, Hardman’s illuminating study describes a highly educated ruler who, though indecisive, possessed sharp political insight and a talent for foreign policy; who often saw the dangers ahead but could not or would not prevent them; and whose great misfortune was to be caught in the violent center of a major turning point in history.
 
Hardman’s dramatic reassessment of the reign of Louis XVI sheds a bold new light on the man, his actions, his world, and his policies, including the king’s support for America’s War of Independence, the intricate workings of his court, the disastrous Diamond Necklace Affair, and Louis’s famous dash to Varennes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300273649
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/29/2023
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Maps vi

Preface x

1 A Dark and Difficult Childhood 1

2 Youth on the Throne 40

3 The Bright Beginning, 1774-76 64

4 Drift Towards War, 1776-78 101

5 American Liberty and Royal Debt, 1778-82 135

6 The Embarrassments of Peace, 1783-85 181

7 Unravelling, 1785-86 199

8 Royal Revolution: The Assembly of Notables of 1787 230

9 The Road to the Estates-General, May 1787-May 1789 274

10 The Silent King and the Third Estate 304

11 The Invasion of a Palace 334

12 The Revolution Caricatures Itself, October 1789-June 1791 351

13 The Flight to Montmédy 370

14 Playing by the Book of the Constitution, 13 September 1791-10 August 1792 406

15 The Prisoner in the Temple 427

Genealogies 448

Notes 450

Bibliography 478

Index 488

Editorial Reviews

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

"The author’s triumph . . . is his admirable balance in presenting the king’s successful traits and actions along with his unsatisfactory steps and misjudgments. . . . An important contribution to the writing and study of French history."—Brad Hooper, Booklist

"Sympathetic . . . deeply moving . . . dramatic. . . . This is biography at its finest, by one of the greatest authorities on the subject."—Chronicles

"Insightful, engaging and well written, The Life of Louis XVI will remain an indispensable source for scholars of the Old Regime and the Revolution for years to come."—Michael P. Fitzsimmons, H-France Review

"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

From the Publisher

“Sympathetic . . . deeply moving . . . dramatic . . . This is biography at its finest, by one of the greatest authorities on the subject.”—Chronicles

Chronicles

“The author’s triumph . . . is his admirable balance in presenting the king’s successful traits and actions along with his unsatisfactory steps and misjudgments. . . . An important contribution to the writing and study of French history.”—Brad Hooper, Booklist

Booklist - Brad Hooper

‘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

Spectator - Philip Mansel

“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

Literary Review - Munro Price