Abraham Lincoln raved that this series of historical biographies gave him "just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have."

Considered what we would now call "young adult" literature, this collection, first published between 1848 and 1871, was designed to present a clear, distinct, connected narrative of the lives of the great figures of world history, those people who have been most influential, at least as American pastor and historian JOHN STEVENS CABOT ABBOTT (1805-1877) saw it from his 19th-century perspective.

Wildly popular and republished many times under different collected names, this replica set mimics the 1904 reprint known as the "Makers of History" series. It will delight students of history as well as show the scholar how history telling has changed over the last few centuries.

More than 30 other volumes in the series are also available from Cosimo Classics.

This volume, dating from 1851, covers one of the most prominent heroines of the French Revolution, Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, from her previous marriage and her arrest during the Reign of Terror, her relationship with the emperor, and much more.