Charles had always been a frail, delicate boy. As he was riding one evening, a strange, wild-looking being sprang out of the darkness and seized the bridle of his horse, crying, "Fly, fly! You are betrayed!" The astonished youth after the shock, became melancholy; then was suddenly seized with a fit of frenzy, in which he killed four of his pages. A mad king was on the throne of France, the worst woman in Europe regent, and three uncles waiting like vultures around a dying man, ready to seize anything from a golden candlestick to a throne! -from Chapter IX With a verve and liveliness worthy of a novelist, American writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) put her unique stamp on world history with her series of clever, concise histories, condensed tales of the world's great nations that encompassed the essential facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it. With this book, first published in 1894 and updated in 1907, she outlines for American readers the evolution and the revolution that is France. From the Gaulish tribes who battled the rule of Rome to the sorry espionage affair of Captain Alfred Dreyfus near the turn of the 20th century, this is the thrilling tale of the peoples who have shared the American dream of liberty and equality and fought for them with equal passion. OF INTEREST TO: readers of European and classical history Parmele's books available from Cosimo Classics include: * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of the United States * A Short History of Germany * A Short History of Spain * A Short History of Rome and Italy * A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland