New Year Paperbacks

The State in Early Modern France, James B. Collins (Cambridge University Press)
This revised edition of Collins’ analysis of early modern Europe’s most important continental state, first published in 1995, examines recent debates on ‘absolutism’, presents a fresh interpretation of the Fronde and of French society in the 18th century, includes additional information on French colonies and overseas trade and ties recent theoretical work into a new chapter on Louis XIV.


Thomas Paine: A Collection of Unknown Writings, ed. Hazel Burgess (Palgrave Macmillan)
From personal correspondence and poetry to a piece revealing his thoughts on the monarchical system of Britain, this collection of hitherto unknown writings by Thomas Paine offers glimpses of the man of whom history still knows relatively little.


Tree of Rivers: The Story of the Amazon, John Hemming (Thames & Hudson)
An account of the struggles between explorers, missionaries, indigenous Indians, scientists, political extremists, prospectors and many more, that have taken place in order to utilise, protect and understand the Amazon region, illustrated with maps, contemporary engravings, paintings and sketches, as well as portraits of the main protagonists and modern-day photographs.


A Part of History: Aspects of the British Experience of the First World War, ed. Michael Howard (Continuum)
This collection of essays considers the British experience of the First World War, from debates about military revisionism, to the literature and music that the War inspired, the ways in which the theme of remembrance haunts our collective memory and, as the last survivors of the 1914-18 generation die out, how the British experience of the war is likely to be researched and written about in future.