At the wedding festivities of his sister Wilhelmine, Frederick secreted himself among the servants in humble attire. He was discovered, and the King, who must have been in a genial mood that night, pulled him forth from his hiding, and leading him to the trembling queen said, "Here, madam, our Fritz is back again!" And the reconciliation made three aching hearts glad.-from Chapter XIIWith a verve and liveliness worthy of a novelist, American writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) put her unique stamp on world history with her series of clever, concise histories, condensed tales of the world's great nations that encompassed the essential facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it.With this book, first published in 1897 and updated in 1908, she initiates American readers into the remarkable story of the origins, setbacks, and triumphs of the German nation. From the arrival of Teutonic tribes on the shores of the River Rhine to the creation of a unified Germany in the late 19th century, this is both dramatic history and an excellent foundation for appreciating the traumas Germany endured in the 20th century.OF INTEREST TO: readers of European and classical historyParmele's books available from Cosimo Classics include:* The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France* The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of the United States* A Short History of Spain* A Short History of Rome and Italy* A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland