Old Regime and the Revolution-Alexis de Tocqueville

Written in three volumes, this fictionalized biography of Richelieu is supposedly based on a manuscript that fell into the author's hands and written by someone intimately acquainted with the facts. Cardinal Richelieu was a powerful French statesman and there is still some debate as to whether he was a great statesman or a cunning fiend. Maybe he was a bit of both. He rose to power under the regency of Mary de Medici and contrived to keep Louis XIII subservient and powerless. He was famous for his foreign policy, but also his scheming to maintain domestic disharmony and bring about the destruction of the aristocracy. It was a time of lawlessness in the country, a situation he overlooked, or maybe even encouraged. This is James's most famous work. - Summary by LynneT