Excerpt: ...committed at the Tower only makes me indignant? It is because the volcano opened in Peru might explode in Paris and bury me in its ruins, while on the other hand I can never apprehend anything in the least similar to the unheard of misfortune which befell the king of England." This from the pen of Beaumarchais! Beaumarchais, who in 1784 was to produce his famous Mariage de Figaro, of which Napoleon said it was, "The Revolution in action." Yes the Revolution, but not at all like the Revolution in England whose ...
Read More
Excerpt: ...committed at the Tower only makes me indignant? It is because the volcano opened in Peru might explode in Paris and bury me in its ruins, while on the other hand I can never apprehend anything in the least similar to the unheard of misfortune which befell the king of England." This from the pen of Beaumarchais! Beaumarchais, who in 1784 was to produce his famous Mariage de Figaro, of which Napoleon said it was, "The Revolution in action." Yes the Revolution, but not at all like the Revolution in England whose results were only political, but one which went down to the very foundation of the human soul changing the psychology of every individual man, woman and child in the fair land of France and from thence spreading its influence over the entire civilized world! Here again we have a startling proof of what already has 162 been advanced, namely that the great actions in the life of Beaumarchais do not come from his own willing or contriving. In the sublime naivete of his genius he became the instrument of those mysterious forces, so gigantic, which first manifested themselves in France, and whose revolutionary power continues to be felt over the whole world to-day. For the moment, however, his thoughts and interests were all for the restricted circle of his family and friends. He laughed when he thought of the son for whom he was working. But alas, as no happiness had been denied, so no human calamity was to escape him, he must drink his cup of grief and abasement to the dregs. Already the wife whom he cherished was attacked by a fatal malady which only could end in the grave, the son for whom he worked so gaily was soon to follow her; his property was to be seized, his aged father and dearly loved sister were to be turned adrift. Deprived of his liberty, entangled in the meshes of a criminal lawsuit and under circumstances so desperate that no lawyer could be found bold enough to plead his cause, it was then that the true force and grandeur...
Read Less
Add this copy of Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence: (V.1 to cart. $45.67, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Cornell University Library.
Add this copy of Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence to cart. $57.78, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Book Jungle.
Add this copy of Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence: (V.1 to cart. $77.48, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Cornell University Library.
Add this copy of Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence: . to cart. $225.00, very good condition, Sold by Lux Mentis, Booksellers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, ME, UNITED STATES, published 1918 by Richard G. Badger/Gorham Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good+. No DJ. First Edition. Hardcover. From the library of Susan Mary Alsop. Born Susan Mary Jay in Rome in 1918, she was the daughter of Peter Augustus Jay (and Susan Alexander McCook) and granddaughter of Augustus Jay (and Emily Astor Kane), both statesmen, legates and/or ambassadors (in Europe, Asia and South America). The Jays, a Huguenot family, produced John Jay, co-author of the Federalist Papers, Foreign Secretary and the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Many of the volumes from her library were from that of her father and grandfather and are so inscribed (as noted). Susan Mary [Jay] Alsop, in addition to being one of the great political hostesses in Washington's circles, was an author in her own right, producing a noted biography of Vita Sackville-West's mother, "Lady Sackville" (1978); and also "Yankees at the Court: The First Americans in Paris" (1982), and "The Congress Dances: Vienna 1814-1815" (1984). Inscribed, "To The Honorable Peter Augustus Jay with the compliments and best wishes of [unclear, 'SHeban'] Kite, Rome December 1919". [Father? ]. A very handsome set. Minor shelf/edge wear, hint of toning at textblock edges, inscription at ffep of Vol. 1, hint of sporadic foxing, else tight, bright and unmarred. Blue cloth boards, gilt lettering and decorative elements, frontispiece(s), tissueguards, blue ink topstain. Small 8vo. 308pp; 306pp. Illus. (b/w plates). Index.
