Paris in Peril

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 is the first in a two-volume collection of his writings during this turbulent period. He vividly recounts his experiences of the Germans’ devastating siege of Paris, setting it within a military, political and economic context. He argues that the outcome would have been less severe had the French army been better prepared, and shows how attempts to provision the capital ahead of the Prussian advance were thwarted by malnourished cattle and blocked transport links, resulting in near-starvation among the besieged. Providing a judicious narrative of a significant period in France’s history, Vizetelly’s eye-witness account remains of great interest.