1815: The Roads to Waterloo

(Paperback)

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The 17 months from April 1814 to August 1815 were an extraordinary period in European history; a period which saw two sieges of Paris, a complete revision of Europe's political frontiers, an international Congress set up in Vienna, civil war in Italy and international war in Belgium. This book tells the story of these days through the perspectives of three very different European cities: the great metropolis of London, post-revolutionary Paris, and baroque Vienna. The writng is designed to evoke and bring to life the Europe of Tolstoy: the ebb and flow of power, of armies and of peoples across Europe's northern plains. Working essentially from primary sources, Dallas is as interested in the weather conditions before battle as in the way cartoonists react to court intrigues and fashions.

Reviews

"A splendid tour de force in every sense... diplomatic history de luxe." - Elizabeth Longford

Author Bio

Gregor Dallas was born in London in 1948, attended Sherborne School in Dorset, received a BA at the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He is interested in peasants as well as presidents and kings. His first book was on rural life in France, his second on Clemenceau, the French war leader. He and his French wife live on the outskirts of Paris, close to the chateau of Madame de Maintenon, mistress then wife of Louis XIV.