The Fall of Paris

The Siege and the Commune 1870-71

Alistair Horne's The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune, 1870-71 is the first book of Alistair Horne's trilogy, which includes The Price of Glory and To Lose a Battle and tells the story of the great crises of the rivalry between France and Germany. The collapse of France in 1870 had an overwhelming impact - on Paris, on France and on the rest of the world. People everywhere saw Paris as the centre of Europe and the hub of culture, fashion and invention. But suddenly France, not least to the disbelief of her own citizens, was gripped in the vice of the Prussian armies and forced to surrender on humiliating terms. Almost immediately Paris was convulsed by the savage self-destruction of the newly formed Socialist government, the Commune. In this brilliant study of the Siege of Paris and its aftermath, Alistair Horne researches first-hand accounts left by official observers, private diarists and letter-writers to evoke the high drama of those ten tumultuous months and the spiritual and physical agony that Paris and the Parisians suffered as they lost the Franco-Prussian war. 'Compulsively readable'
  The Times 'The most enthralling historical work'
  Daily Telegraph 'Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the civil war that still stirs the soul of France'
  Evening Standard One of Britain's greatest historians, Sir Alistair Horne, CBE, is the author of a trilogy on the rivalry between France and Germany, The Price of Glory, The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle, as well as a two-volume life of Harold Macmillan.
"This classic work . . . is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the civil war that still stirs the soul of France."
-Evening Standard, London
© Jerry Bauer
Alistair Horne is the author of eighteen previous books, including A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962, The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916, How Far from Austerlitz?: Napoleon 1805–1815 and the official biography of British prime minister Harold Macmillan. He is a fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford, and lives in Oxfordshire. He was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur in 1993 and received a knighthood in 2003 for his work on French history. View titles by Alistair Horne

About

Alistair Horne's The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune, 1870-71 is the first book of Alistair Horne's trilogy, which includes The Price of Glory and To Lose a Battle and tells the story of the great crises of the rivalry between France and Germany. The collapse of France in 1870 had an overwhelming impact - on Paris, on France and on the rest of the world. People everywhere saw Paris as the centre of Europe and the hub of culture, fashion and invention. But suddenly France, not least to the disbelief of her own citizens, was gripped in the vice of the Prussian armies and forced to surrender on humiliating terms. Almost immediately Paris was convulsed by the savage self-destruction of the newly formed Socialist government, the Commune. In this brilliant study of the Siege of Paris and its aftermath, Alistair Horne researches first-hand accounts left by official observers, private diarists and letter-writers to evoke the high drama of those ten tumultuous months and the spiritual and physical agony that Paris and the Parisians suffered as they lost the Franco-Prussian war. 'Compulsively readable'
  The Times 'The most enthralling historical work'
  Daily Telegraph 'Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the civil war that still stirs the soul of France'
  Evening Standard One of Britain's greatest historians, Sir Alistair Horne, CBE, is the author of a trilogy on the rivalry between France and Germany, The Price of Glory, The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle, as well as a two-volume life of Harold Macmillan.

Reviews

"This classic work . . . is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the civil war that still stirs the soul of France."
-Evening Standard, London

Author

© Jerry Bauer
Alistair Horne is the author of eighteen previous books, including A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962, The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916, How Far from Austerlitz?: Napoleon 1805–1815 and the official biography of British prime minister Harold Macmillan. He is a fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford, and lives in Oxfordshire. He was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur in 1993 and received a knighthood in 2003 for his work on French history. View titles by Alistair Horne