The hallmarks of the eighteenth century—its opulence, charm, wit, intelligence—are embodied in the age's remarkable women. These women held sway in the salons, in the councils of state, in the ballrooms, in the bedrooms; they enchanted (or intimidated) the most powerful of men and presided over an extraordinary cultural flowering of unprecedented luxury and sophistication. It is this captivating world that Olivier Bernier recreates. A world in which the shrewdness of Madame de Pompadour or the beauty of Madame du Barry could change the course of great nations. A world that could encompass the piquant frankness of Abigail Adams and the dark plotting of the queen of Naples. This world has been swept away, but its great ladies, the first modern women, still speak to us.  Fourteen dashing and sometimes tragic women—empress and dressmaker, bluestocking and courtesan—come to life here in a series of lavishly illustrated essays. Delightfully informative, this timely book charts the beginnings of women's liberation, illuminates the century for those who are unfamiliar with it, and provides new insights for those who know it well. [This book was originally published in 1982 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

The Eighteenth-Century Woman

Arts & Photography

Bernier, Olivier

History & Criticism

Metropolitan Museum of Art

A colorful impassioned history of the French Revolution recounts monumental events from Bastille Day unitl the Terror and profiles the monarchy, leaders of the Revolution, and the masses who rallied in a bloody demand for change

Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood: The Mob, the Monarchy, and the French Revolution

History

Europe

Little,Brown & Co

Describes the art, culture, society, and politics of the period, and looks at the most influential people of that time

Fireworks at Dusk: Paris in the Thirties

Describes eighteenth-century life in Paris, Versailles, Naples, and America in terms of fashion, art, education, politics, science, and commerce

Pleasure and Privilege: Daily Life in France, Naples, and America, 1770-1790

Americas

DOUBLEDAY

Traces the life of Louis XV, the king of France, offers a glimpse of his complex personality, and looks at the highlights of his fifty-nine year reign

Louis the Beloved: The Life of Louis XV

Letters between Marie Antoinette and her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, document life at the French court and Marie's personal concerns

The Secrets of Marie Antoinette

Traces the long, intrigue-filled, and opulent life of the Sun King, during whose seventy-three year reign France became the leading power of Europe and celebrated a golden age of culture

Louis XIV: A Royal Life

Recounts monumental events of the French Revolution from Bastille Day until the Terror, and profiles the monarchy, leaders of the Revolution, and the masses who rallied to demand change

Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood

Anchor

Bernier provides us with a riveting chronicle of that time, so vastly different from our own yet so pregnant with meaning for us as we embark upon a new century. From Europe?s bloodstained landscape to the prosperous ports and homesteads of a nascent United States, from the Spanish dominions of Central and South America to the slave trading posts of Africa?s Gold Coast and the lavish interiors of China?s Forbidden City, Bernier takes us on a dizzying journey around the world, providing a finely textured portrait of civilization at the dawn of the modern era.

The World in 1800

World

John Wiley&Sons

wiley

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bernier, Olivier. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bernier, Olivier

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bernier, Olivier. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Eighteenth-Century Woman

Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood: The Mob, the Monarchy, and the French Revolution

Fireworks at Dusk: Paris in the Thirties

Pleasure and Privilege: Daily Life in France, Naples, and America, 1770-1790

Louis the Beloved: The Life of Louis XV

The Secrets of Marie Antoinette

Louis XIV: A Royal Life

Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood

The World in 1800

The World in 1800