Ballet changed dramatically during the French Revolution. Judith Chazin-Bennahum reveals how the cold, stylized dance movements and weighted ornamental costumes of the 18th-century court ballets developed into the ballet of the Romantic movement, where dancers wore lightweight costumes that allowed them to flow freely across the stage and take to the air. Chazin-Bennahum studies the "livrets "(printed scenarios) of ballets performed in Paris from 1787 to 1801 to illustrate how dance reflected the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution. Ballet s main characters changed from mythological heroes and heroines to the heroes of the Revolution. She examines three major types of ballets and their sources to document these changes: ballets based on classical mythology; ballets inspired by the revolutionary spirit; and ballets rooted in middle-class themes from pastoral drama, traditional comedy, and exotic settings."

FRANCE 1794: THE REIGN OF TERROR...On holiday in France, Sam and the Boffin discover an old clock. Or what they think is an old clock - until it transports them back in time to 1794. Catapulted into the middle of the French Revolution, the boys find themselves embroiled in a plot to free the imprisoned Dauphin, heir to the throne of France. Led by the inventor of the time machine and his beautiful daughter Charlotte, they must pit their wits against the ruthless dictator Robespierre and his sinister aide, Catherine Théot. All, of course, in the terrifying shadow of one of man's most gruesome inventions: the guillotine...In the Shadow of the Guillotine is an exciting history-based adventure for young people aged ten and up.

"This extraordinary, bloodthirsty period comes to life in Graeme Fife's new book. Drawing on contemporary police files, eyewitness accounts, directives from the sinister Committee for Public Safety, and heart-wrenching last letters from prisoners awaiting execution, the author recreates the psychotic atmosphere of that time."--BOOK JACKET.

'Liberty, equality, fraternity' cry the revolutionaries as they spill the blood of the aristocracy into the streets of Paris. The rumble of the tumbrils strikes fear into the hearts of the once rich and powerful. For one young noblewoman, a simple act of charity from years before could be the only thing that can save her. This gripping new addition to the My Story series is a fascinating glimpse into the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.

Against the dramatic backdrop of the French Revolution, historian Scurr tracks Robespierre's evolution from lawyer to revolutionary leader. This is a fascinating portrait of a man who identified with the Revolution to the point of madness, and in so doing changed the course of history.