France

Napoleon’s Cavalry

General and trooper alike, Napoleon's cavalry brought a superb panache to the drab business of war. James Lunt describes how, for fifteen years, there was “hardly a village in Europe between Moscow and Madrid” through which these dashing horsemen did not ride.

Napoleon III and Napoleon IV

Joanna Richardson describes how the last Emperor of the French died at Chislehurst, Kent; his son was killed in the British Zulu war.

Marshal Soult

William Allan introduces the Napoleonic military genius; in Napier’s words, ‘the best loved Frenchman England ever fought’.

Louis XVI at Bay: The Tuileries, June 20th, 1792

After the dismissal of popular ministers in 1792, writes M.J. Sydenham, a widespread conviction that the King was bent on thwarting the Revolution led to the invasion of his palace by the Parisian mob.

Languedoc in the Sixteenth Century

N.M. Sutherland describes how two Swiss brothers, studying medicine at Montpellier, recorded the tenor of life in sixteenth century Southwestern France.

Humbert’s Raid on Ireland, 1798

Thomas Pakenham describes the ill-fated but remarkable efforts of a tiny French naval expedition to help conquer Ireland for the rebels during the 1798 Rising.

Gronow’s Reminiscences

John Raymond offers the picturesque records of an amiable spendthrift who lived through the greater part of one of the most eventful centuries of English history.