“Let them eat cake!”Did she really say it?After a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason, and she was executed by guillotine on Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793. Long after her death, she remains a major historical figure, the subject of books, films and other forms of media. Politically engaged authors have deemed her the quintessential representative of class conflict, western ...

"Be an example . . . in speech, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 The object of this book is practical utility, not literary effect. It was written for mothers in the common walks of life. There are many mothers, in every village of our land, who are looking eagerly for information respecting the government of their children. It is hoped that the...

A 'fast-forward' acting course covering all the essential techniques an actor needs to know and use – with a suite of exercises to put each technique into practice.John Abbott's The Acting Book offers various ways to analyse a text and to create character, using not only the established processes of Stanislavsky and Meisner, but also new ones developed by the author over many years of teaching drama students. It also sets out a wide range of rehearsal techniques and impro...

Many characters of unusual grandeur were developed by the French Revolution. Among them all, there are few more illustrious, or more worthy of notice, than that of Madame Roland. The eventful story of her life contains much to inspire the mind with admiration and with enthusiasm, and to stimulate one to live worthily of those capabilities with which every human heart is endowed. No person can read the record of her lofty spirit and of her heroic acts without a higher appreciation of woman'...

Is your ambition to be an actor in films, TV shows and plays?Do you want to train at a drama school to start making that ambition a reality?Are you looking for honest, expert advice to boost your chances of success and beat the competition?If your answer to these questions is YES, then this essential guide to drama schools is for you!Written by an acting teacher with decades of experience in top UK drama schools, it breaks down eve...

There can scarcely anything be found in the literature of our language, more wild and wonderful, than the narrative contained in this volume. The extraordinary career of Captain Kidd, a New-York merchant, the demoniac feats of those fiends in human form, Bonnet, Barthelemy, and Lolonois; the romantic history of the innocent female pirate Mary Read, and of the termagant Anne Bonney; the amazing career of Sir Henry Morgan, and the fanaticism of Montbar, scarcely surpassed by that of Mohammed...

About the year of our Lord 997, Adelbert, Bishop of Prague, with two companions, set out on a missionary tour to the shores of the Baltic. The savage inhabitants killed him. Still Christianity gradually gained ground. As the ages rolled on, idolatry disappeared, and nominal Christianity took its place. The people were poor, ignorant, widely dispersed, and but partially civilized. During weary centuries, as generations came and went, nothing in that region occurred of interest to the world ...

George Washington has no superior. The life of Washington reveals to us, in a remarkable degree, the state of society in our land, the manners and customs of the people, their joys and griefs, one hundred years ago. Humanity is proud of his name. He seems to have approached as near perfection as any man who ever lived. In his wonderful career we became familiar with all the struggles of the American Revolution. With a feeble soldiery, collected from a population of less than three millions...

John Abbott, author of The Improvisation Book, explains how theatre directors at every level can use improvisation in the rehearsal room. Foreword by Mark Rylance.'Improvisation can be used as part of the creative process of rehearsing a play. It can be a fabulous tool for exploration and discovery. It can strengthen the actor's commitment to their character. And it can create an environment of confidence and spontaneity.'Packed with useful exercises and i...

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.In The Mother at Home, John Abbott speaks with clear, practical warmth to the daily work of motherhood—showing how a mother’s quiet influence shapes a child’s character, habits, and eternal outlook. With vivid examples drawn from ordinary family life, Abbott explains why loving authority matters, how to establish willing obedience without constant conflict, and how a mother can correct faults fairly, wisely, and consistently.

In the year 1740, Charles the Sixth, emperor of Austria, died. He left a daughter twenty-three years of age, Maria Theresa, to inherit the crown of that powerful empire. She had been married about four years to Francis, duke of Lorraine. The day after the death of Charles, Maria Theresa ascended the throne. The treasury of Austria was empty. A general feeling of discontent pervaded the kingdom.