ON the thirteenth of May, 1770, Paris celebrated the wedding of the Dauphin or Prince Royal Louis Aguste, grandson of Louis XV. still reigning, with Marie-Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria. The entire population flocked towards Louis XV. Place, where fireworks were to be let off. A pyrotechnical display was the finish to all grand public ceremonies, and the Parisians were fond of them although they might make fun. The ground was happily chosen, as it would hold six thousand spectators. Around the equestrian statue of the King, stands were built circularly to give a view of the fireworks, to be set off at ten or twelve feet elevation. The townsfolk began to assemble long before seven o'clock when the City Guard arrived to keep order. This duty rather belonged to the French Guards, but the Municipal government had refused the extra pay their Commander, Colonel, the Marshal Duke Biron, demanded, and these warriors in a huff were scattered in the mob, vexed and quarrelsome. They sneered loudly at the tumult, which they boasted they would have quelled with the pike-stock or the musket-butt if they had the ruling of the gathering.

Reproduction of the original: The Mesmerist's Victim by Alexander Dumas

The Mesmerist's Victim is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. Part of The Marie Antoinette romances, this story weaves in different aspects of Parisian gentry, with it's external glories often hiding the painstaking realities of upper society.

Love can blossom even in the most desperate of situations. In "The Mesmerist’s Victim: Andrea de Taverney", the second entry in the "Marie Antoinette Romances", the setting is Revolution-era Paris. The story centres on two passionate, but rather unlucky souls who become lovers. Amidst all the chaos, intrigue, and beheadings, they fight to keep their romance alive. Returning characters from the series’ first entry, "Joseph Balsamo", make up the supporting cast. Action takes a back seat in "The Mesmerist’s Victim". Instead, Alexandre Dumas concentrates on deepening his characters and the intricate relationships which join them together through this turbulent time. Alexandre Dumas (1802 - 1870) was a hugely popular 19th Century French writer. Born of mixed French and Haitian heritage, Dumas first rose to prominence in Paris as a playwright, but later gained international fame with his historical fiction. Often co-authored with other writers, these stories wove together swashbuckling adventure, romance, and real events from France’s past. Among the best known are "The Three Musketeers", and its sequels "Twenty Years After", and "Le Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later". Set across four decades, this trilogy follows the rise of the dashing D’Artagnan—from hot-headed soldier to trusted captain under Louis XIV. Dumas’ other novels include "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Black Tulip". His works have been adapted into more than 200 movies, including The Man in the Iron Mask starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Old New York (1924) is a collection of four novellas by Edith Wharton, revolving around upper-class New York City society in the 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s. The novellas reveal the tribal codes and customs that ruled society, portrayed with the keen style that is uniquely Edith Wharton's. Originally published in 1924 and long out of print, these tales are vintage Wharton, dealing boldly with such themes as infidelity, illegitimacy, jealousy, the class system, and the condition of women in society Included in this remarkable quartet are False Dawn, The Old Maid, The Spark, and New Year's Day. The decades indicated in the subtitles to the stories make them prequels, after a fashion, to The Age of Innocence. All five might as well be cut from the same bolt of cloth, sharing settings, characters, social insight, a similar knowing eye for a telling detail. Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She became known for her psychological examination of characters faced with changes in the moral and social values of middle-class and upper-class society. Her novels and short stories provide numerous expert characterizations of complex men and women.

The Memoirs of a Physician Series is placed in the time of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The series presents an idealized portrait of France during the reign of Queen Marie Antoinette, but it also shows the decadence of the nobility of the time, with its ending seeming to suggest the "beginning of the end" of the nobility. Novels are inspired by the actual historical characters, such as Count Cagliostro and Ange Pitou, and the major events in the history of France, storming the Bastille, French Revolution and The Reign of Terror. Alexandre Dumas, père (1802-1870) was a French writer whose works have been translated into nearly 100 languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. His most famous works are The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. Table of Contents: Joseph Balsamo: The Magician The Mesmerist's Victim: Andrea de Taverney The Queen's Necklace Taking the Bastile: Ange Pitou The Countess de Charny: The Execution of King Louis XVI

Les Rougon-Macquart is the collective title given to a cycle of twenty novels by French writer Émile Zola. Subtitled "Natural and social history of a family under the Second Empire", it follows the life of one family during the Second French Empire (1852–1870). In this tremendous work Zola first and foremost examines the impact of social environment on men and women, by varying the social, economic, political and professional milieu in which each novel takes place. It provides us with a close look at everyday life, gives us a deep insight into important social changes and it shows us the true people's history of the Second Empire. Table of Contents: The Fortune of the Rougons (La Fortune des Rougon) The Kill (La Curée) The Belly of Paris (Le Ventre de Paris) The Conquest of Plassans (La Conquête de Plassans) The Sin of Father Mouret (La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret) His Excellency Eugène Rougon (Son Excellence Eugène Rougon) The Drinking Den (L'Assommoir) One Page of Love (Une Page d'amour) Nana Piping Hot (Pot-Bouille) The Ladies' Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) The Joy of Life (La Joie de vivre) Germinal The Masterpiece (L'Œuvre) The Earth (La Terre) The Dream (Le Rêve) The Beast in Man (La Bête humaine) Money (L'Argent) The Downfall (La Débâcle) Doctor Pascal (Le Docteur Pascal) Émile Zola (1840-1902), French novelist, critic, and political activist who was the most prominent French novelist of the late 19th century. He was noted for his theories of naturalism, which underlie his monumental 20-novel series Les Rougon-Macquart, and for his intervention in the Dreyfus Affair through his famous open letter, "J'accuse."

Set in 1625, "The Three Musketeers" recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although D'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age: Athos, Porthos and Aramis and gets involved in affairs of the state and court. Dumas frequently works into the plot various injustices, abuses and absurdities of the old regime, giving the story an additional political aspect at a time when the debate in France between republicans and monarchists was still fierce. The novel Twenty Years After follows events in France during the Fronde, during the childhood reign of Louis XIV. The musketeers are valiant and just in their efforts to protect young Louis XIV and the doomed Charles I from their attackers. The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Vallière and The Man in the Iron Mask are set between 1660 and 1667 against the background of the transformation of Louis XIV from child monarch to Sun King. Alexandre Dumas, père (1802-1870) was a French writer whose works have been translated into nearly 100 languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. His most famous works are The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

"Ashes of the Beacon" purports to be "An Historical Monograph Written in 4930" and gives a few indications concerning the lamentable failure of "self-government" in America. It is less amusing and more analytical; and while practically everyone will find much in it to disagree with, there is also plenty to think about. Though generally conservative and frequently pigheaded, Bierce is neither a fool nor a hypocrite, and he makes his points with thoroughgoing clarity. His work as a whole is a lifelong battle against woolly thinking, murky logic and bad writing. Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842 – 1914?) was an American satirist, critic, poet, editor and journalist. Bierce became a prolific author of short stories often humorous and sometimes bitter or macabre. He spoke out against oppression and supported civil and religious freedoms. He also wrote numerous Civil War stories from first-hand experience. Many of his works are ranked among other esteemed American authors' like Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen Crane, and Mark Twain.

The Hero of the People is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. Part of the Marie Antoinette romance series, this story relays a post French Revolution time where the intricate love affairs of the Royal Family are explored.