The Last King of Poland (New ed)

This is the story of Stanislaw Antoni Poniatowski, the last King of Poland.

He was a perfect illustration of the contradictions of Europe's ideological and religious viewpoints: worshipped reason but was led by the heart; professed Catholicism but believed in Protestantism; toyed with the occult and practised freemasonry.

He transformed the mood and outlook of his country and brought it to a new phase of independence and reform, culminating in the passing of the Constitution in 1791, hailed in England and France as one of the greatest events of the century.

Poland's neighbours, however, viewed this beacon of liberty in their midst with alarm, and as they invaded and partitioned the country, Stanislaw was forced to watch the destruction of his life's work, and was eventually forced to abdicate.