If I wanted prose I invariably gravitated to Gibbon in "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." But now in my estimation there is a new kid on the block; namely Thomas Carlyle's book " The French Revolution" produced in 1837.

Not spoken of much these days, but apparently a favourite of; Wilde & Dickens. Carlyle has a very unusual style of writing, a result no doubt of being an; historian, essayist and philosopher.

He uses the reader as a front line observer of events; one might almost say as a participant.

Thus we get a heady mixture of ; fact, ancients myths and even Scripture.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but well worth the effort for some real gems that have you rereading time and time again.