The court of Louis XV

Norwood Press:
J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith.
Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, PUBLISHERS

Former series of M. Imbert de Saint-Amand’s historical works have depicted the great French historical epochs of modern times. The stirring events of the Revolution, of the Consulate and Empire, and of the Restoration period, ending with the July revolution of 1830 and the accession of Louis Philippe, are grouped around the attractive personalities of Marie Antoinette, the Empresses Josephine and Marie Louise, and the Duchesses of Angoulême and of Berry. The remarkable and uniform success of these works has induced the publishers to undertake the translation and publication of a previous series of M. de Saint-Amand’s volumes which deal with epochs more remote, but not for that reason less important, interesting, or instructive. The distinction of the cycle now begun with the “Women of the Valois Court” and ending with “The Last Years of Louis XV.,” is that, whereas in former series several volumes have been devoted to the historical events associated with each of the titular personalities to which they were closely related, in the present instance a more condensed method is followed. The color of the present series is more personal, and therefore more romantic, as is to be expected in the annals of a period during which the famous women of the French Court were not only more numerous but more influential than their successors of later times. The dawn of the modern era, chronicled in M. de Saint-Amand’s “Marie Antoinette and the End of the Old Régime” was the beginning of the extinction of the feminine influence that flourished vigorously in affairs of state from Marguerite of Angoulême to Madame Dubarry. It is the history of this influence that the author has graphically written in the four volumes now announced—“Women of the Valois Court,” “The Court of Louis XIV.,” and “The Court of Louis XV.,” and “The Last Years of Louis XV.”

The first volume is devoted to Marguerite of Angoulême and Catherine de’ Medici and their contemporaries at the French court during the days of the last of the Valois—the most romantic period of royalty probably in all history. The two principal figures are depicted with striking vividness,—the half Catholic, half Protestant sister of Francis I., the grandmother of Henry IV., the author of the famous “Heptameron,” and one of the most admirable historical figures of any epoch; and the diplomatic, ambitious, unscrupulous but extremely human Catherine, universally held responsible for the awful Massacre of Saint Bartholomew. But the subordinate though scarcely less famous women who adorned the Valois Court—Diane de Poitiers, the Duchess d’Étampes, Marguerite of Valois, Marie Stuart, and others—are described with an equally brilliant and illuminating touch.

The volumes on the women of the great Bourbon epoch, the epoch of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., when the Bourbon star was in the zenith, contain a great deal of intimate history as well as setting in relief the interesting personalities of the famous La Vallière and Montespan and that perennial historical enigma, Madame de Maintenon, in the volume devoted to the court of the “Sun King,” and those of Madame de Pompadour, Madame Dubarry, Queen Marie Leczinska, and other celebrities who made Versailles what it was during the long and varied reign of Louis XV. The study of Madame de Maintenon is a real contribution to history, and the pictures of the clever and dazzling beauties who controlled so long the destinies not only of France but measurably of Europe itself from the accession of “le Grand Monarque” to the first threatenings of the Revolution “deluge” are extremely life-like and skilfully executed. The historical chronicle of the time is by no means lost sight of by the author, but in this series even more than in his works heretofore published in English he appears not only as an interesting and impartial historian, but as a brilliant historical portraitist.

FOUR NEW VOLUMES.

WOMEN OF THE VALOIS AND VERSAILLES COURTS.

Each with Portraits, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $5.00; half calf, $10.00.

WOMEN OF THE VALOIS COURT.

THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV.

THE COURT OF LOUIS XV.

THE LAST YEARS OF LOUIS XV.

VOLUMES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED.

THREE VOLUMES ON MARIE ANTOINETTE.

Each with Portrait, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $3.75; half calf, $7.50.

MARIE ANTOINETTE AND THE END OF THE OLD RÉGIME.

MARIE ANTOINETTE AT THE TUILERIES.

MARIE ANTOINETTE AND THE DOWNFALL OF ROYALTY.

In this series is unfolded the tremendous panorama of political events in which the unfortunate Queen had so influential a share, beginning with the days immediately preceding the Revolution, when court life at Versailles was so gay and unsuspecting, continuing with the enforced journey of the royal family to Paris, and the agitating months passed in the Tuileries, and concluding with the abolition of royalty, the proclamation of the Republic, and the imprisonment of the royal family,—the initial stage of their progress to the guillotine.

THREE VOLUMES ON THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.

Each with Portrait, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $3.75; half calf, $7.50.

CITIZENESS BONAPARTE.

THE WIFE OF THE FIRST CONSUL.

THE COURT OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.

The romantic and eventful period beginning with Josephine’s marriage, comprises the astonishing Italian campaign, the Egyptian expedition, the coup d’état of Brumaire, and is described in the first of the above volumes; while the second treats of the brilliant society which issued from the chaos of the Revolution, and over which Madame Bonaparte presided so charmingly; and the third, of the events between the assumption of the imperial title by Napoleon and the end of 1807, including, of course, the Austerlitz campaign.

FOUR VOLUMES ON THE EMPRESS MARIE LOUISE.

Each with Portrait, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $5.00; half calf, $10.00.

THE HAPPY DAYS OF MARIE LOUISE.

MARIE LOUISE AND THE DECADENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

MARIE LOUISE AND THE INVASION OF 1814.

MARIE LOUISE, THE RETURN FROM ELBA, AND THE HUNDRED DAYS.

The auspicious marriage of the Archduchess Marie Louise to the master of Europe; the Russian invasion, with its disastrous conclusion a few years later; the Dresden and Leipsic campaign; the invasion of France by the Allies, and the marvellous military strategy of Napoleon in 1814, ending only with his defeat and exile to Elba; his life in his little principality; his romantic escape and dramatic return to France; the preparations of the Hundred Days; Waterloo and the definitive restoration of Louis XVIII. closing the era begun in 1789, with “The End of the Old Régime,”—are the subjects of the four volumes grouped around the personality of Marie Louise.

TWO VOLUMES ON THE DUCHESS OF ANGOULÊME.

Each with Portrait, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $2.50; half calf, $5.00.

THE YOUTH OF THE DUCHESS OF ANGOULÊME.

THE DUCHESS OF ANGOULÊME AND THE TWO RESTORATIONS.

The period covered in this first of these volumes begins with the life of the daughter of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette imprisoned in the Temple after the execution of her parents, and ends with the accession of Louis XVIII. after the abdication of Napoleon at Fontainebleau. The first Restoration, its illusions, the characters of Louis XVIII., of his brother, afterwards Charles X., of the Dukes of Angoulême and Berry, sons of the latter, the life of the Court, the feeling of the city, Napoleon’s sudden return from Elba, the Hundred Days from the Royalist side, the second Restoration, and the vengeance taken by the new government on the Imperialists, form the subject-matter of the second volume.

THREE VOLUMES ON THE DUCHESS OF BERRY.

Each with Portrait, $1.25. Price per set, in box, cloth, $3.75; half calf, $7.50.

THE DUCHESS OF BERRY AND THE COURT OF LOUIS XVIII.

THE DUCHESS OF BERRY AND THE COURT OF CHARLES X.

THE DUCHESS OF BERRY AND THE REVOLUTION OF JULY, 1830.

The Princess Marie Caroline, of Naples, became, upon her marriage with the Duke of Berry, the central figure of the French Court during the reigns of both Louis XVIII. and Charles X. The former of these was rendered eventful by the assassination of her husband and the birth of her son, the Count of Chambord, and the latter was from the first marked by those reactionary tendencies which resulted in the dethronement and exile of the Bourbons. The dramatic Revolution which brought about the July monarchy of Louis Philippe, has never been more vividly and intelligently described than in the last volume devoted to the Duchess of Berry.

William Waldorf Astor.

“The story is full of clear-cut little tableaux of mediæval Italian manners, customs and observances. The movement throughout is spirited, the reproduction of bygone times realistic. Mr. Astor has written a romance which will heighten the reputation he made by ‘Valentino.’”—The New York Tribune.

Arlo Bates.

“The novel deals with character rather than incident, and is evolved from one of the most terrible of moral problems with a subtlety not unlike that of Hawthorne.”—The Critic.

Hjalmar H. Boyesen.

“Mr. Boyesen’s stories possess a sweetness, a tenderness and a drollery that are fascinating, and yet they are no more attractive than they are strong.”—The Home Journal.

H. C. Bunner.

“It is Mr. Bunner’s delicacy of touch and appreciation of what is literary art that give his writings distinctive quality. Everything Mr. Bunner paints shows the happy appreciation of an author who has not alone mental discernment, but the artistic appreciation. The author and the artist both supplement one another in this excellent ‘Story of a New York House.’”—The New York Times.

Frances Hodgson Burnett.

“Mrs. Burnett discovers gracious secrets in rough and forbidding natures—the sweetness that often underlies their bitterness—the soul of goodness in things evil. She seems to have an intuitive perception of character.”—Richard Henry Stoddard.

William Allen Butler.

“Under a veil made intentionally transparent, the author maintains a running fire of good-natured hits at contemporary social follies.”—The New York Journal of Commerce.

George W. Cable.

The set, 4 vols., $5.00.

“There are few living American writers who can reproduce for us more perfectly than Mr. Cable does, in his best moments, the speech, the manners, the whole social atmosphere of a remote time and a peculiar people. A delicious flavor of humor penetrates his stories.”—The New York Tribune.

Rebecca Harding Davis.

“There are altogether thirteen stories in the volume, all written in that direct, forcible style which is Mrs. Davis’s distinctive merit as a producer of fiction.”—Boston Beacon.

Richard Harding Davis.

The ten stories comprising this volume attest the appearance of a new and strong individuality in the field of American fiction. They are of a wide range and deal with very varied types of metropolitan character and situation; but each proves that Mr. Davis knows his New York as well as Dickens did his London.

Edward Eggleston.

“Dr. Eggleston’s fresh and vivid portraiture of a phase of life and manners, hitherto almost unrepresented in literature; its boldly contrasted characters, and its unconventional, hearty, religious spirit, took hold of the public imagination.”—The Christian Union.

Erckmann-Chatrian.

The National Novels, each, $1.25; the sets, 6 vol., $7.50.

Eugene Field.

“This pretty little volume promises to perpetuate examples of a wit, humor, and pathos quaint and rare in their kind.”—New York Tribune.

Harold Frederic.

“It is almost reasonable to assert that there has not been since Cooper’s day a better American novel dealing with a purely historical theme than ‘In the Valley.’”—Boston Beacon.

James Anthony Froude.

“The narrative is full of vigor, spirit and dramatic power. It will unquestionably be widely read, for it presents a vivid and life-like study of character with romantic color, and adventurous incident for the background.”—The New York Tribune.

Robert Grant.

“In the ‘Reflections,’ Mr. Grant has given us a capital little book which should easily strike up literary comradeship with ‘The Reveries of a Bachelor.’”—Boston Transcript.

Edward Everett Hale.

“There is no question, we think, that this is Mr. Hale’s completest and best novel.”—The Atlantic Monthly.

Marion Harland.

“Fiction has afforded no more charming glimpses of old Virginia life than are found in this delightful story, with its quaint pictures, its admirably drawn characters, its wit, and its frankness.”—The Brooklyn Daily Times.

Joel Chandler Harris.

“The author’s skill as a story writer has never been more felicitously illustrated than in this volume.”—The New York Sun.

Augustus Allen Hayes.

“The conception of the story is excellent.”—The Boston Traveller.

George A. Hibbard.

“It is still often urged that, except in remote corners, there is nothing in our American life which appeals to the artistic sense, but certainly these stories are American to the core, and yet the artistic sense is strong in them throughout.”—Critic.

E. T. W. Hoffmann.

“All those who are in search of a genuine literary sensation, or who care for the marvelous and supernatural, will find these two volumes fascinating reading.”—The Christian Union.

Dr. J. G. Holland.

“Dr. Holland will always find a congenial audience in the homes of culture and refinement. He does not affect the play of the darker and fiercer passions, but delights in the sweet images that cluster around the domestic hearth. He cherishes a strong fellow-feeling with the pure and tranquil life in the modest social circles of the American people, and has thus won his way to the companionship of many friendly hearts.”—The New York Tribune.

Thomas A. Janvier.

“Piquant, novel and ingenious, these little stories, with all their simplicity, have excited a wide interest. The best of them, ‘Jaune D’Antimoine,’ is a little wonder in its dramatic effect, its ingenious construction.”—Critic.

Andrew Lang.

“No one can deny that it is crammed as full of incident as it will hold or that the elaborate plot is worked out with most ingenious perspicuity.”—The Saturday Review.

George P. Lathrop.

“His novels have the refinement of motive which characterize the analytical school, but his manner is far more direct and dramatic.”—The Christian Union.

Brander Matthews.

“Mr. Matthews is a man of wide observation and of much familiarity with the world. His literary style is bright and crisp, with a peculiar sparkle about it—wit and humor judiciously mingled—which renders his pages more than ordinarily interesting.”—The Rochester Post-Express.

George Moore.

“How a woman’s previous ideas and actions will completely change when the medium of a wild, intense love is interposed, was never more skilfully sketched.”—Boston Times.

Fitz-James O’Brien.

“These stories are the only things in literature to be compared with Poe’s work, and if they do not equal it in workmanship, they certainly do not yield to it in originality.”—The Philadelphia Record.

Duffield Osborne.

“It has a simple but picturesque plot, and the story is told in a vividly dramatic way.”—Chicago Times.

Bliss Perry.

“A wonderfully shrewd and vivid picture of life in one of our hill towns in summer.”—Hartford Post.

Thomas Nelson Page.

“Mr. Page enjoys the distinction of having written the most exquisite story of the war (‘Marse Chan’), which has yet appeared. His stories are beautiful and faithful pictures of a society now become a portion and parcel of the irrevocable past.”—Harper’s Magazine.

George I. Putnam.

The author of this love story, who is an ex-army officer, has given a very natural picture of garrison life in the Far West, with strong character studies, and a sufficient diversity of incident to give movement and cumulative interest to the tale.

Saxe Holm’s Stories.

“Saxe Holm’s characters are strongly drawn, and she goes right to the heart of human experience, as one who knows the way. We heartily commend them as vigorous, wholesome, and sufficiently exciting stories.”—The Advance.

Transcriber’s Notes:

1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.

2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the original.

3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been retained as in the original.