H. G. Francq

2759 Louis XVII: The Unsolved Mystery, by H. G. Francq (read 17 Jun 1995) This is a 1970 book . The author arrives at the conclusion that Louis XVII did die on June 8, 1795 in the Temple in prison--which is the version given out by the people in charge in France at the time. I would have been better off if I had read the encyclopedia articles on Louis XVII before I read the book, since the book is very detailed and without a good idea of the forest one is quickly bored by the trees. So I almost skimmed some of the book, since it is poorly organized and lacks English precision--a frequent failing, it seems, of books by Frenchmen. The book makes no mention of Eleazer Williams, a half-breed Indian who in the mid 19th century in upstate New York was led to believe he was Louis XVII, per the Encyclopedia Americana account of Louis XVII. This book did not get the attention from me it should have.… (mehr)