Best of
18th-Century

1979

Poetry and Designs: Authoritative Texts, Illuminations in Color and Monochrome, Related Prose, Criticism


William Blake - 1979
    The spelling and punctuation have been modified for greater intelligibility to modern readers. Almost all of Blake's published writings are here, as well as most of his best shorter poems that remained in manuscript at his death, and much of his most energetic prose. Of Blake's major epics, Milton is printed in full, in its longest version; Jerusalem is represented by selection amounting to one third of the complete poem, and The Four Zoas by briefer excerpts. All the other poetic works are presented complete.

The Year of the French


Thomas Flanagan - 1979
    They were supposed to be an advance guard, followed by other French ships with the leader of the rebellion, Wolfe Tone. Briefly they triumphed, raising hopes among the impoverished local peasantry and gathering a group of supporters. But before long the insurgency collapsed in the face of a brutal English counterattack.Very few books succeed in registering the sudden terrible impact of historical events; Thomas Flanagan's is one. Subtly conceived, masterfully paced, with a wide and memorable cast of characters, The Year of the French brings to life peasants and landlords, Protestants and Catholics, along with old and abiding questions of secular and religious commitments, empire, occupation, and rebellion. It is quite simply a great historical novel.Named the most distinguished work of fiction in 1979 by the National Book Critics' Circle.

Kings over the Water: The Saga of the Stuart Pretenders


Theo Aronson - 1979
    For well over a century, four successive Stuart kings laid claim to the crown. The first was James II, deposed in 1688 by his daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange; then came James III (the Old Pretender) and his son, Charles III (Bonnie Prince Charlie — the Young Pretender); finally, there was Henry IX (the Cardinal King) who died in 1807, the last descendant in direct and legitimate line from James II. This book tells the story of these four men, and of their families. Although it gives a graphic account of the '45 and other Jacobite uprisings and explains the background to political events, it is, first and foremost, a biographical portrait of the exiled Stuarts. It is an account of their public and private lives, their personalities, their relationships with others, and the extraordinary hold which they never ceased to exercise over their adherents. It is a book about people; a book about the twilight of one of the world's most romantic, colourful and ill-fated dynasties. The fascinating, often bizarre, story of the ‘kings over the water’ is ideally suited to Theo Aronson's exceptional talents, and especially his ability to bring his subjects vividly to life and to make clear the labyrinthine relationships of European royalty. His reputation as an historian, based on such books as The Kaisers, A Family of Kings and Grandmama of Europe, is deservedly high. Of his most recent study, Victoria and Disraeli, C. P. Snow wrote: 'It is bright with intelligence and human wisdom.'

Conjugial Love


Emanuel Swedenborg - 1979
    Swedenborg includes his perspective on sexual relationships in this world, both in and out of wedlock, and how the choices that we make affect our spiritual development. Interwoven with the text are numerous examples of his experiences in heaven.This edition is a reprint of a 1915 translation by Samuel M. Warren, revised by Louis H. Tafel.

The Collected Letters


Mary Wollstonecraft - 1979
    This is the only single-volume edition containing all Wollstonecraft's known correspondence.

Tide of Empires: Decisive Naval Campaigns in the Rise of The West: Volume I, 1481-1654


Peter Padfield - 1979
    

Selected Poems


John Gay - 1979
    His voice and the voice of his age sound clearly in this collection of his poetry.

Dress in 18th Century England


Anne Buck - 1979
    

In Quest and Crisis: Emperor Joseph I and the Habsburg Monarchy


Charles W. Ingrao - 1979
    Under Joseph's leadership, Austria established its long hegemony over Italy and suppressed the great Rgk6czi rebellion, drawing up a compromise with the Hungarian nation, which was to serve as a landmark in Austro-Hungarian relations until the end of the monarchy. Despite the significance of Joseph's contribution to the history of his dynasty, he has never had a modern biographer until now. Extensively researched both in published and archival sources, In Quest and Crisis is the first biography of this colorful emperor to appear in any language since the eighteenth century.