Paris Under Siege

This anthology assembles a journal of the siege of Paris in 1870-1871 from letters, diaries, and other contemporary records kept during the Franco-Prussian War and the city's isolation. The extracts follow the investment by Prussian forces, shortages of food and fuel, balloon and messenger traffic, bombardment, and the political shock of defeat, then the unrest that followed the armistice. Voices include officials, journalists, and private residents rather than a single narrator. The book is a chronological collage of witness testimony about a capital under blockade, not a later staff history of the campaign.

10 leaves of plates showing contemporary prints and photographs. Full pale grey cloth with a wrap-around contemporary etching in brown. Pale brown endleaves. Cream slipcase.