Throne-Makers

Thayer, William Roscoe, 1859-1923Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 425K words
Chapters: 43

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Throne-Makers by William Roscoe ThayerAuthor: Thayer, William Roscoe, 1859-1923,Language: English, Class: CT: History: Biography, Release Date: Feb 10, 2019

Editor's review

Throne-Makers is a collection of historical biographies by William Roscoe Thayer; the title points to "those who make thrones," focusing not on monarchs on the throne but on figures who shaped power behind the scenes and drove changes in the political landscape. Thayer was skilled in biography and historical writing; his style is clear and evaluative, and he excels at drawing character and the spirit of the age from his subjects' actions. The book suits readers interested in European political history, biographical literature, and the mechanisms of power, and can serve as a sample of how late nineteenth-century American historians wrote on the theme of kingmakers. It should be read as both historiography and literary style: look at the characters' stories and also at the author's judgments and choice of material, without expecting a systematic general history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in European political history and biographies of powerful figures
Learners studying biographical style and methods of historical writing
Writers seeking material on the "kingmaker" theme
History enthusiasts able to read English

Not a good fit for

Readers needing systematic general history textbooks or exam preparation
Casual readers who prefer novelistic plots and strong narrative
Those who struggle with English and have no aids

Reading tips

First read the table of contents to choose figures of interest, then review the author's overall stance in the preface.
After each chapter, summarize in a few sentences the figure's source of power and the author's evaluation, forming comparative notes.
Read alongside an overview of contemporary European political history to avoid being carried away by a single figure's narrative.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of people does the title "Throne-Makers" refer to?

It refers to figures who exerted key influence behind monarchs or regimes and shaped the distribution of power, not the monarchs themselves. Through several biographies the book presents the actions and characters of such figures. For the specific figures and contents, consult the original table of contents, and note how the author defines the role of "throne-making."

Is this book a general history or a collection of biographies?

It is closer to a collection of biographies than a systematic general history arranged chronologically. Each piece centers on a figure, with historical background introduced through the person, so readers get concrete character and event descriptions but must supply the historical framework themselves. To build an overall historical view, read it alongside general histories.

Should Thayer's standpoint be given special attention?

Yes. Thayer was an American historian and biographer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and his choice of material, judgments, and narrative emphasis bear the marks of his time and standpoint. Note what he highlights and what he omits, and keep the author's judgments separate from factual statements; this is also the usual method for reading early biographical works.

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About the author

Thayer, William Roscoe, 1859-1923 Author

William Roscoe Thayer (1859–1923) was an American historian and biographer, with three of his works held in this collection. Public information about him is limited, making the details of his life difficult to describe at length, yet his surviving works show that his writing focused on political biography and the early history of the United States. His representative work, Theodore Roosevelt: An Intimate Biography, records the life and character of the American president through close observation; George Washington traces Washington's political and military career; and Throne-Makers turns to European history, examining the figures who manipulated power behind the scenes. Thayer's biographies are clearly written and steadily narrated, combining attention to character with an awareness of historical context, and his works remain useful references for understanding the historical figures he portrayed.