Ooooh, Rosalind Laker's Tree of Gold
Yes! She definitely influenced me with both that book and To Dance with Kings (which spanned the reigns of Louis XIV-XVI, IIRC).

Melissa - I'd LOVE to read your essay. Sounds wonderful. Too bad it's no longer up at history1700s :-(

I just ordered Roy Porter's book on Eighteenth Century England!! Am looking forward to getting it.

Rene - thanks for mentioning those books! And I agree with you re The Old Bailey Online. It's fantastic.

Here are a couple of neat resources I found via the Humbul Humanities Hub:
The European Enlightenment
The Hannah Snell Homepage (she successfully masqueraded as a man in the British Navy)
William Hogarth and 18th-Century Print Culture
Overview of the French Revolution
18th Century at EyeWitness.com