"The Old Regime: Court, Salons, and Theatres" by Catherine Charlotte, Lady Jackson, complete in one volume. First American Edition published by Henry Holt, New York, 1882.

Hard boards, original maroon cloth with golden Bourbon lily on the front board and gold lettering on spine [spine ends wear and fading, a little soiling]; 5.1/4" x 7.1/2"; brown endpapers, antique bookplate of E.G.H. Richardson inside front cover, xiv + 546 pages including Index, printed on high quality heavy stock paper, tight binding, there is a vintage dump stain to the upper corner of the last 30 pages [mostly Index]; very good condition.

This work covers various aspects of French History and culture through the eighteenth century, starting with the end of the reign of Louis XIV. The upper class's cultural life, the functionality of royal court and their impact on politics are the aspects that are rarely examined by other historians. In the final passage of her book, Lady Jackson concludes "Here then we leave them [Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XVI and other characters], with feelings of pity and sympathy; for the fate of Louis XVI, was due far more to the despotism and depravity of his predecessors than to political mistakes and faults of his own. Both he and his queen may, in fact, be regarded as the scapegoats of the vices of the Old Regime." [532]

Lady Catherine Hannah Charlotte Elliott Jackson (1824-1891), was the daughter of Thomas Elliot of Wakefield, and was also the second wife of Knight Diplomat Sir George Jackson (1785-1861), whom she married in 1856, and a prolific author in her own right, especially in the area of European history and of the court of France in the 16th and 18th centuries.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) --------- $12.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) -- $32.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) --- $48.50