Product Description

The seventeen 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.Gregor Dallas 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 writing is almost cinematic in its power 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 reacted to court intrigues and fashions.It is also Europe seen through the eyes of its central players: Talleyrand, who has served nearly every French regime since the Revolution of 1789; Metternich, who devises new plans for a 'Germany' that does not yet exist and for a 'Europe' that remains devided; Wellington, who reveals himself a diplomat as well as a soldier; Tsar Alexander, an idealist seeking to impose a uniform plan for all Europe; and 'Boney' himself, who has his own ideal of Europe and, though banished to Elba, does not abandon his dream to realise it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1447867 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 9.25" h x 6.25" w x 1.50" l, 1.64 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

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

From the Back Cover

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

The seventeen 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.

Gregor Dallas 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 writing is almost cinematic in its power 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 reacted to court intrigues and fashions.

It is also Europe seen through the eyes of its central players: Castlereagh, who travels from one capital to another in pursuit of peace; Talleyrand, who has served nearly every French regime since the Revolution of 1789; Metternich, who devises new plans for a 'Germany' that does not yet exist and for a 'Europe' that remains devided; Wellington, who reveals himself a diplomat as well as a soldier; Tsar Alexander, an idealist seeking to impose a uniform plan for all Europe; and 'Boney' himself, who has his own ideal of Europe and, though banished to Elba, does not abandon his dream to realise it.

The result is a highly entertaining yet flawlessly researched history of the times. Through 1815's narrative we understand the machinations of state against state, each player's different political and ethical viewpoints, and how the decisions and emotions of men and women helped form a fragile Europe in a time of flux.

'It is entertaining and irreverent...Some of the descriptive set pieces are magnificent.' Marianne Elliott, Sunday Times

'A delight to read because it is so engagingly well written and so informative... pleasurable and scholarly.' Alistair Horne, Literary Review

'The great strength of Dallas's narrative is its concern, not just with maps and treaties, but with the detailed reconstruction of the social and cultural world of the European elite in 1815...The cumulative effect of all this pointilliste detail is powerful, converying a vivid sense of the intellectual and imaginative world within which post-Napoleonic Europe was defined.' John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph

'History as it should be written: scholarship married to a narrative skill.' Bryan Forbes, Daily Telegraph

About the Author
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. (20010730)