Description

Henry Vizetelly (1820-94), whose two-volume Glances Back through Seventy Years is also reissued in this collection, was an English journalist based in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, which concluded with the downfall of Napoleon III and the end of the second French Empire. First published in 1882, this illustrated two-volume collection of his writings during this turbulent period vividly recounts his experiences of the devastating siege of Paris, setting it within a military, political and economic context. The severe famine during the siege was exacerbated by a lack of forward planning by the French and their inability to build up food supplies before the city was encircled. He describes life during the siege, and recalls the continuing bravery of the French even in the face of inevitable defeat by the Prussian army. Providing an eye-witness account of a significant period in France's history, Vizetelly's works remain of great interest.