On August 10, 1792, Louis XVI of France abandoned his Paris chateau, walked across the Tuileries gardens, and surrendered his crown. In the tumultuous months that followed, he was tried, found guilty, and sent to the guillotine. When originally published, David Jordan's riveting account of that turbulent time identified key issues, focused attention on a matter once considered only an episode of French history, and reframed the academic debate on the meaning of the most significant trial in French history. His new preface considers the scholarship of the past twenty-five years and places The King's Trial in the current context.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Sell Back Your Copy for $4.62
Whether you buy it used on Amazon for $10.00 or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $4.62.
Used Price$10.00
Trade-in Price$4.62
Price after
Trade-in$5.38 |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Remarkably fresh and convincing." -- Times Literary Supplement
About the Author
David P. Jordan is the LAS Distinguished Professor of French History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of Transforming Paris: The Life and Labors of Baron Haussmann (1995), The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre (1985), and Gibbon and His Roman Empire (1971).
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bloodless account of the decapitation heard round the world.,
By Frank J. O'Connor "Booklover" (Methuen, MA United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution (Paperback)
This is a fair, balanced, but too dry account of the trial and execution of Louis XVI. All the facts are there, but none of the drama. The book also suffers from the propensity to summarize rather than describe events. The author seems reluctant to delve too deeply into details, assuming we've all heard the story before. Thus the drama never seems to come alive; the whiff of the textbook hovers over its pages. On the positive side, Mr. Jordan has no axes to grind and maintains a scrupulous objectivity. Suprisingly, it is only Louis himself who has the power to elicit an emotional response, albeit restrained, from our author. Chapter four, his portrait of Louis' life in the Temple, provides a touching portrait of the King, enhanced by the inclusion of the famous sketch of the King in profile shortly before his death.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not terrible,
This review is from: The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition, With a New Preface (Paperback)
Jordan's book has several commendable points. His overview of the Revolution pre-trial is cogent and useful to newcomers. His portrayal of the King's last months are evocative and poignant. Jordan also gives a thorough account of all the various arguments employed during the debates. The narrative stumbles a little with his negative characterization of the Girondins and a laudatory one of the Jacobins as better caretakers of the Revolution. This despite the Girondins being sacrificed to the mob by the jacobins' fear and their subsequent government abandoning both Republican and Democratic legacies and embracing the totalitarian terror. Would the Girondins' moderation in retrospect really have had a comparable negative impact? His final chapter on the obliteration of Louis' remains is oddly joyful. maybe he should have written a hagiography of Marat. Overall worth reading.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
King Louis XVI,
By Textbook Fan (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition, With a New Preface (Paperback)
It's hard for me to believe that there are few books on King Louis XVI in light of the French Revolution. This is indeed an interesting look at King Louis- Jordan uses narrative to play out the history of the French Revolution and its aftermath. It was a slow read, but well written.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
