Title: Skip this one if you are looking for a good balance.
Product review: The Introduction says it all: "We make no pretensions of extending the bounds of scholarship": they certainly don't; the supporting documentation appears on the weak side. "For those who want to read more there is plenty": correct! Skip this one if you are looking for a serious, well-supported, well-balanced and unbiased treatment of the subject. The style is definitely too journalistic; some of the opinions expressed by the authors (e.g. on the Church, on the French, on the aristocracy) are patronising and give the appearance of having been poorly researched. Lastly, towards the end the events and names reported tend to get increasingly confusing.
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