Book description
'This is history as it should be. It is stunningly written, I could not
put it down. This is the best account of the French Revolution I have
ever read.' Alison Weir, author of 'Henry VIII, King and Court'
The fascinating, moving story of the brief life and many possible
deaths of Louis XVII, son of Marie-Antoinette.
Louis-Charles Bourbon 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. Two years later, following the brutal execution of both
his parents, the Revolutionary leaders declared Louis XVII was 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 which conclusively reveals the identity of the young prince who
was lost in the tower.
Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content
that appeared in the original print version. 'Outstanding…In providing
such a vivid biography of Louis Charles's life, the author has set a
fine standard of scholarship. The action races forward with sumptuously
judged pace equal to that of any top rate thriller.' George Lucas,
Financial Times
'Beautifully structured and sympathetically narrated, Cadbury's book
benefits from having a subject that successfully brings together
science, suspense and sentiment. Something for everyone, then.' Miranda
Seymour, Sunday Times
'This tale reads like a Gothic novel of gloomy castles, dark deeds and
false claimants and a cliffhanger ending with science as an added
bounus. Gripping from start to finish.' New Scientist
'This is history as it should be. It is stunningly written, I could not
put it down. This is the best account of the French Revolution I have
ever read.' Alison Weir, author of 'Henry VIII, King and Court'
Deborah Cadbury is the award-winning TV science producer for the BBC,
including Horizon for which she won an Emmy . She is also the highly-
acclaimed author of 'The Feminisation of Nature' and 'The Dinosaur
Hunters
