The Coming of the Great War

This two-volume history pairs The Proud Tower, a portrait of Europe and America from the 1890s to 1914, with The Guns of August, a narrative of the war's first month in 1914. The first book moves through patricians, anarchists, The Hague conferences, the Dreyfus affair, the German Social Democrats, and the naval race. The second follows the German advance through Belgium, the French Plan XVII, the British Expeditionary Force, and the clash that ends in the Marne stalemate. Statesmen and generals are the principal figures. The set is narrative history of the approach and opening of the First World War, not a full account of the conflict.

Bound in black buckram blocked with a repeat pattern of small crowns (Volume 1) and Maltese crosses (Volume 2) in gold. Gold two-volume slipcase titled in black. 16 pages of plates Dark blue endleaves. 16 pages of plates. Red endleaves.