Louis xviii

1830 · CAB07031 — London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley 1830. First Edition in English. 225 x 143 mm. 8 7/8 x 5 5/8". Two volumes. <br/> Very pleasing 19th century green half morocco over marbled boards and endpapers raised bands spine panels with flower cluster centerpiece top edges gilt. ◆Spines faded evenly to a shade darker than leather on covers but A REALLY EXCELLENT COPY the bindings showing virtually no wear and fine internally with only trivial defects.<br/> <br/> This is a surprisingly scarce book--and especially rare in desirable condition--about the intrigues involving the French Court both leading up to and during the reign of Louis XVIII 1755-1824. In this work Baron Etienne Leon de Lamothe-Langon 1786-1864 assumes the unusual pose of a female first-person narrator convincing readers that she is a handsome lady at court. The narration begins with an on-the-scene look at the major political and courtly players during the time of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette just before the French Revolution. Then we are treated to the depictions of further various intrigues bringing us into the Napoleonic and then the post-Napoleonic period of Louis XVIII all the while supplying portraits of almost every notable person after the downfall of "the Little Emperor.". Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley unknown