Antonia Fraser Knihy

Historicky erudovaný obraz francouzského královského dvora za vlády Ludvíka XIV. je věnovaný především biografii několika slavných žen, které osudově ovlivnily jeho život a často se podílely i na politických rozhodnutích. Kniha renomované anglické autorky nepojednává pouze o oficiálních milenkách Ludvíka XIV.(Marie Manciniová, Luisa de La Valliere, Madame de Montespan či Françoise de Maintenon a další), ale charakterizuje jeho vztah k ženám i obecně. První z osudových žen Ludvíka XIV. byla pochopitelně jeho matka Anna Rakouská, která jako regentka vlastními ambicemi ovlivnila první léta jeho vlády, druhou královna Marie Tereza, dcera španělského Filipa IV. Brzy však Ludvíkův bouřlivý soukromý život i přes opatrný nesouhlas katolické církve, proslavil francouzský královský dvůr jako místo galantní zábavy, přepychu a rozkoše. Autorka se v knize zaměřila především na vývoj vztahu s notoricky známými milenkami, snažila se zachytit velkolepost a atmosféru králova dvora i jeho bezprostřední frivolnost. Dalším výrazným tématem knihy je neutuchající zápas katolické církve o spásu královy duše a kromě barvitě a detailně vykreslených dobových poměrů se v knize nevyhnutelně mezi řádky objevují i úvahy o postavení žen ve Francii 17. století.

The New York Times bestselling history of the legendary six wives of Henry VIII--from the acclaimed author of Marie Antoinette. Under Antonia Fraser's intent scrutiny, Catherine of Aragon emerges as a scholar-queen who steadfastly refused to grant a divorce to her royal husband; Anne Boleyn is absolved of everything but a sharp tongue and an inability to produce a male heir; and Catherine Parr is revealed as a religious reformer with the good sense to tack with the treacherous winds of the Tudor court. And we gain fresh understanding of Jane Seymour's circumspect wisdom, the touching dignity of Anna of Cleves, and the youthful naivete that led to Katherine Howard's fatal indiscretions. The Wives of Henry VIII interweaves passion and power, personality and politics, into a superb work of history.

'Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here ... Fascinating' GUARDIAN 'Beautifully paced, impeccably written ... Don't miss it' INDEPENDENT 'Fraser is at her best here, lucid, authoritative and compassionate' SUNDAY TIMES 'Superbly researched ... the definitive work on the ill-fated queen' CATHOLIC HERALD Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still 'la reine méchante', whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: 'let them eat cake'. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny. Antonia Fraser examines her influence over the king, Louis XVI, the accusations and sexual slurs made against her, her patronage of the arts which enhanced French cultural life, her imprisonment, the death threats made against her, rumours of lesbian affairs, her trial (during which her young son was forced to testify to sexual abuse by his mother) and her eventual execution by guillotine in 1793.

She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape and even murder. Betrayed by those she most trusted, she would be lured into a deadly game of power, only to lose to her envious and unforgiving cousin, Elizabeth I. Here is her story, a queen who lost a throne for love, a monarch pampered and adored even as she was led to her beheading, the unforgettable woman who became a legend for all time.

An inspired evaluation of women leaders in war by a bestselling historian

Excerpt from The Clans of the Scotland Highlands: Illustrated by Appropriate Figures, Displaying Their Dress, Tartans, Arms, Armorial Insignia, and Social OccupationsM Sound all}. Clad-ton. South Carolina. Mama), Thom Oybbon. Esp, Rolvendon. Kent. Noun. John w. Esq Philadelphin.Han-rill. Uh. Em Ghent. Liverpool. Murray, John. Enn., Dnndnlh.

What were the women of the Civil War era like? What could they expect beyond marriage and childbirth in an age where infant and maternal mortality was frequent and contraception unknown? Antonia Fraser brings to life the many women she has researched.

Each of Antonia Fraser’s four Jemima Shore mysteries has enlarged the audience for that redoubtable and unpremeditated sleuth. This new one is set against a theatrical background and shows all the narrative skills that have marked the works of its distinguished author along with an ever-increasing quality of suspense. It is the chilling story of Christobel, a beautiful and profligate actress, who thought she could just come back, repent, and resume with impunity the life she had deserted.

The scandal of nineteenth-century Britain: the sensational trial of Caroline Norton for adultery with the first Victorian Prime Minister

Mistresses and wives, mothers and daughters - Antonia Fraser brilliantly explores the relationships which existed between The Sun King and the women in his life. This includes not only Louis XIV's mistresses, principally Louise de La Vallière, Athénaïs de Montespan, and the puritanical Madame de Maintenon, but also the wider story of his relationships with women in general, including his mother Anne of Austria, his two sisters-in-law who were Duchesses d'Orléans in succession, Henriette-Anne and Liselotte, his wayward illegitimate daughters, and lastly Adelaide, the beloved child-wife of his grandson.