THE FRENCH REVOLUTION - A HISTORY [Vols 1 & 2 - 3 vols in 2.]

UK,12mo HB,Vols 1+2,1st thus. [3 volumes in 2 vols.] VG+.No owner inscrptns.Publisher's bright,clean, original plain navy blue cloth boards with double-lined tooled borders to front+rear boards - rear boards with blind-tooled publisher's colophon and bright,crisp, non-oxidised gilt-lettered spines/backstrips; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners and clean plain white endpaper with hinges intact and without any cracking,All corner tips ubiquitously but minimally curled with rubbing and miniscule colour loss,both heads+feet of each volume minimally bumped with reciprocal creases - but no major nicks,tears or splits present.Tops+fore-edges llightly aged/toned but without foxing/ spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - no dog-ear reading crease to any pages' corner tips - appears unread,other than my own collation.UK,12mo HB,Vols 1+2 - 3 volumes in 2,1st thus. Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable for a book of it's age,and even internally, the book is in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the minor exterior faults described that prevents a higher grading.Despite these,it really is an exceptional copy for brightness and cleanliness. The French Revolution was a period of time in France when the people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. The revolution lasted 10 years from 1789-1799.It began on July 14, 1789 when revolutionaries stormed a prison called the Bastille.The revolution came to an end 1799 when general Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the revolutionary government and established the French Consulate, with himself as leader. Prior to the Revolution,the people of France were divided into social groups called "Estates." The First Estate included the clergy (church leaders),the Second Estate included the nobles,and the Third Estate included the commoners. Most of the people were members of the Third Estate. The Third Estate paid most of the taxes,while the nobility lived lives of luxury and got all the high-ranking jobs. The French Government was in constant turmoil throughout the revolution.In the beginning, representatives from the Third Estate established the National Assembly,where they demanded that King Louis XVI give them certain rights.This group soon took control of the country.They changed names over time to the Legislative Assembly and,later,to the National Convention.The 'Reign of Terror' lasted from 1793-1794,during this time,Maximilien Robespierre led the National Convention and the Committee of Public Safety.Wanting to stamp out any opposition to the revolution,he called for a rule of "Terror." Laws were passed that said anyone suspected of treason could be arrested and executed by guillotine.Thousands of people were executed including Queen Marie Antoinette and many of Robespierre's political rivals. Following a year of harsh rule by Robespierre,many of the revolutionary leaders had had enough of the Terror. They turned on Robespierre and had him arrested.He was executed,along with many of his supporters,by guillotine on July 28,1794. After the 'Reign of Terror',a new government was formed called the Directory which ruled until Napoleon took control. The French Revolution completely changed the social and political structure of France.It put an end to the French monarchy,feudalism,and took political power from the Catholic church.It brought new ideas to Europe including liberty and freedom for the commoner as well as the abolishment of slavery and brought rights for women. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded, after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **