THE LOST KING OF FRANCE: REVOLUTION,REVENGE AND THE SEARCH FOR LOUIS XVII.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner incrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt colour,subject portrait painting,with b/w+silver embossed lettering, illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean;contents bright,tight and pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - an unread copy? Bright,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt letters to spine/backstrip with immaculate plain blue endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,viii-xiiipp+4- 306pp [paginated] includes intro,Pts I+II comprising 6+5 chapters respectively,16pp colour, contemporary illus/plates in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp82/3 and pp210/1 respectively,acknowledgements,notes on sources, a biblio,notes on typography and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,and contents+illus lists/tables. Royalty,revolution and mystery - the dramatic true story of Louis XVII,son of Marie-Antoinette,and an extraordinary detective story that spans more than two hundred years. Louis-Charles,Duc de Normandie,enjoyed a charmed early childhood in the gilded palace of Versailles.At the age of four,he became the Dauphin,heir to the most powerful throne in Europe.Yet within five years,he was to lose everything.Drawn into the horror of the French Revolution, his family was incarcerated and their fate thrust into the hands of the revolutionaries who wished to destroy the monarchy.In 1793, when his mother was beheaded at the guillotine,she left her adored eight-year-old son imprisoned in the Temple Tower. Far from inheriting a throne,the orphaned boy-king had to endure the hostility and abuse of a nation.Two years later,the Revolutionary leaders declared Louis XVII dead.No grave was dug,no monument built to mark his passing.Immediately,rumours spread that the Prince had,in fact,escaped from prison and was still alive.Others believed that he had been murdered, his heart cut out and preserved as a relic. In time,his older sister,Marie-Therese, who survived the Revolution,was approached by countless 'brothers' who claimed not only his name,but also his inheritance.Several 'Princes' were plausible,but which,if any,was the real Louis-Charles? Deborah Cadbury's 'The Lost King of France' is a moving and dramatic story,interweaving a pivotal moment in France's history with a compelling detective story involving pretenders to the crown, royalist plots and bizarre legal battles.The quest for the truth finally runs to the present day.Using modern DNA testing,the strange odyssey of a stolen heart found within the royal tombs was to lead to an exciting conclusion to the 200-year-old mystery of the Lost King of France. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item,for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,the 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 any inexpensive 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 AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.