The Roads to Waterloo

1815

A splendid tour de force in every sense.diplomatic history de luxe.'Elizabeth Longford

Gregor Dallas was born in London in 1948, attended Sherborne School in Dorset, received a BA at the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  He is interested in peasants as well as presidents and kings.  His first book was on rural life in France, his second on Clemenceau, the French war leader.  He and his French wife live on the outskirts of Paris, close to the chateau of Madame de Maintenon, mistress then wife of Louis XIV.

The seventeen months from April 1814 to August 1815 were an extraordinary period in European history; a period which saw two sieges of Paris, a complete revision of Europe's political frontiers, an international Congress set up in Vienna, civil war in Italy and international war in Belgium.Gregor Dallas tells the story of these days through the perspectives of three very different European cities: the great metropolis of London, post-revolutionary Paris and baroque Vienna.  The writing is almost cinematic in its power to evoke and bring to life the Europe of Tolstoy: the ebb and flow of power, of armies and of peoples across Europe's northern plains.  Working essentially from primary sources, Dallas is as interested in the weather conditions before battle as in the way cartoonists reacted to court intrigues and fashions.It is also Europe seen through the eyes of its central players: Talleyrand, who has served nearly every French regime since the Revolution of 1789; Metternich, who devises new plans for a 'Germany' that does not yet exist and for a 'Europe' that remains devided; Wellington, who reveals himself a diplomat as well as a soldier; Tsar Alexander, an idealist seeking to impose a uniform plan for all Europe; and 'Boney' himself, who has his own ideal of Europe and, though banished to Elba, does not abandon his dream to realise it.

Gregor Dallas

War and Peace

On the night of 7 November 1918 French troops at La Capelle, on the Western Front, noticed a soft halo develop in the fog over no man's land.  They heard the rumble of cars, then perceived the vague form of a huge white flag: the Germans were crossing the line to seek peace.  But who were these Germans and what exactly did they represent?  By the time they had signed an armistice, four days later, not even they knew.  The Kaiser's Reich had collapsed and Germany faced chaos, while the war in Eastern Europe continued. This book traces the transition from war to peace across Europe.  It follows the movement of armies over the northern plains, their collapse, their demoblization, and the effect this had on the material life of people.  In Russia there had already been a revolution.  In Germany, there were attempts to overthrow the provisional republican government.  In Poland new wars broke out.  At the same time, there was celebration in the West at the announcement of the Armistice.  And the United States entered European politics with a new part to play. Dallas follows these dramatic events from the perspective of five capitals: Berlin, Paris, London, Moscow and Washington.  In Berlin the cabarets and beer halls are open, while there is shooting in the streets.  In the walled city of Paris, the peacemakers assemble to respond to the call for a League of Nations.  Pantomime season opens in London, where Lloyd George holds elections and reorganizes his War Cabinet; John Maynard Keynes of the Treasury worries about debts.  Contemporaries describe Moscow as a scene of desolation; but Lenin insists on setting up the Third International.  Washington is divided between those who want to open America to the world, and those who would prefer the world to go away. The start of peace is more complex and fascinating than the start of war; it sets the habits and builds the patterns of life for generations to come.  This book weaves politics, ideas, social life, fears, aspirations and harsh realities into a seamless reconstruction of life experienced at a great turning-point of history.

Gregor Dallas

Books by Gregor Dallas

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