The Last King Of Poland

Excerpt from The Last King of Poland and His Contemporaries And beneath and behind everything, ever felt though not always seen, is the hand of the Russian Empress, con trolling and determining the course of events through a succession of singularly well-chosen satraps, such as the martial Repnin, the courtly Volkonsky, the brutal Saldem, the sarcastic Stackelberg, and - most dangerous of them all - the suave and sentimental Sivers. The work of these finished diplomatists was mostly dirty work, and the best of them heartily disliked it; nevertheless they did it, as we shall see, well and thoroughly. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Biografi om Polens sidste konge fra 1764-1795, Stanisław August Poniatowski (1732-1798)

In Poland's Last King, Richard Butterwick reassesses the achievement of Poland's most controversial king. He shows how Stanislaw August's radical plans for constitutional reform and the renewal of Polish culture were profoundly influenced by his admiration of England, and examines the successes and limitations of the Polish Enlightenment.

The attempt by Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1764-95) 'to create anew the Polish world' was one of the most audacious enterprises of reform undertaken in the 18th century. With new perspectives on the successes and limitations of the Polish Enlightenment this book presents a dynamic interpretation of European culture in the eighteenth century.

A sketch of the life of Stanislaus Poniatowski throughout which are vividly pictured the influences that caused the downfall of Poland; among them, class prejudice, religious controversy, useless Diets, and great waste and extravagance. * * * * * "We heartily commend Mr. Bain's book, which is the most sympathetic and authentic on Poland since that published some years ago by George Brandes." --The Athenaeum "Mr. Nisbet Bain has written for us this mournful chapter in the history of a decadent nation, with a brilliancy and point not common excepting in the writings of French historians. The tale is as exciting as a romance, and reflects much of that realistic description of manners, good and bad, which we find in the works of Balzac." --Literary Review

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.