Louis XVI and the French Revolution, 1789-1792

'In this beautifully written study, Ambrogio Caiani paints a picture of a king increasingly adrift as the French Revolutionaries relentlessly stripped away the symbolic and ceremonial trappings surrounding him for most of his years on the throne. His analysis adds new depth to our understanding of Louis XVI's fatal alienation from the Revolution.' Bill Doyle, University of Bristol 'In this detailed and innovative study, which will be required reading for all historians and students of the Revolution, Ambrogio Caiani offers a major re-evaluation of the history of the French Court after 1789 and of the failure of the Constitutional Monarchy.' Julian Swann, Birkbeck, University of London 'This well researched and meticulous book investigates the fate of royal court ceremonial after 1789 in unprecedented detail. Demonstrating how Louis XVI's retention of Old Regime ritual confirmed suspicions he could not be trusted, it is important for explaining why the king and the French Revolutionaries proved unable to reach a political compromise.' Thomas E. Kaiser, University of Arkansas, Little Rock