Louis XVI of France (August 23, 1754 to January 21, 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793. He was the only king of France to be executed."  The text from Wikipedia has a stunning simplicity.  The story of Louis and Marie Antoinette is one of the great dramas, one of the great tragedies of modern politics.  Only a very great writer such an Lady Antonia Fraser could accurately describe the descent from the heights of power to the dark frightening depths of a prison cell in Paris that Marie and Louis traversed.  (Wikipedia)

We will try to tell their story in Week 27.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING:

Antonia Fraser,

Marie Antoinette: The Journey,

Anchor (November 12, 2002),

ISBN 0385489498