Memoires de Barras, Membre du Directoire, Vols. I and II.

An important work on the French Revolution by the main leader and by most account flawed leader of the Directory from 1795 to 99. In Good condition overall despite some wear at cover edges and corners and the beginnings of splits in the binding at the front of the volumes. Cover is of marbleized board and leather with the gold lettering and design of the spine for the most part still bright and without faults However, the binding is tight otherwise and there are no tears, marks or folds on the pages. Very light age toning at the page edges. Text is entirely in French. Vol. I LXXXI + 372 pages; Vol II XVI +543 pages TFrom Wikipedia (abridged): "Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (French: [bara:s], 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799....At the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he advocated the democratic cause, and became one of the administrators of the Var. In June 1792 he took his seat in the high national court at Orléans. Later in that year, on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Barras became commissioner to the French Army, which was facing the forces of Sardinia in the Italian Peninsula, and entered the National Convention as a deputy for the Var. In January 1793, he voted with the majority for the execution of King Louis XVI. However, he was mostly absent from Paris on missions to the regions of the south-east of France. During this period, he made the acquaintance of Napoleon Bonaparte at the siege of Toulon (his later clash with Napoleon made him downplay the latter's abilities as a soldier: he noted in his Memoirs that the siege had been carried out by 30,000 men against a minor royalist defending force, whereas the real number was 12,000; he also sought to minimize the share taken by Bonaparte in the capture of the city...."