This autobiography recalls the eventful career of the nineteenth-century publisher and journalist, Henry Vizetelly (1820 1894). Born in London, Vizetelly was apprenticed to a wood engraver as a young child. He entered the printing business and helped found two successful but short-lived newspapers, the Pictorial Times and the Illustrated Times. From 1865 Vizetelly worked in Paris and later Berlin as a foreign correspondent for the Illustrated London News, and also wrote and published several books. On his return to England, he became a publisher of foreign novels and gained notoriety for his translations of Emile Zola which challenged strict Victorian laws on obscenity and led to his prosecution and imprisonment. His book is a fascinating blend of public and personal history, providing an insight into the turbulent literary world of nineteenth-century Europe. Volume 1 covers his life up to the infamous Palmer Trial in 1856.

This autobiography recalls the eventful career of the nineteenth-century publisher and journalist, Henry Vizetelly (1820 1894). Born in London, Vizetelly was apprenticed to a wood engraver as a young child. He entered the printing business and helped found two successful but short-lived newspapers, the Pictorial Times and the Illustrated Times. From 1865 Vizetelly worked in Paris and Berlin as a foreign correspondent for the Illustrated London News, and also wrote and published several books. He later became a publisher of foreign novels and gained notoriety for his translations of Emile Zola which challenged strict Victorian laws on obscenity and led to his prosecution and imprisonment. His book is a fascinating blend of public and personal history, providing an insight into the turbulent literary world of nineteenth-century Europe. Volume 2 begins in 1858 with the marriage of Princess Vicky and concludes with Vizetelly's return to England in 1878.

In the wake of German unification in 1871, Berlin became a place of increased interest to the other nations of Europe. The journalist Henry Vizetelly (1820-94) made his first journey to the capital of the new empire in 1872. Based on observations from a series of visits, this two-volume work presents a witty and detailed portrait of the city and its inhabitants. In Volume 1, Vizetelly describes travelling to Berlin and his mixed first impressions. He sketches a brief history of the city and its development from the thirteenth century onwards, and in a series of essay-style chapters he discusses aspects of Berlin culture and society - including dinner-party etiquette - as well as political and military personalities. Illustrated with hundreds of engravings from designs by German artists, the work first appeared in 1879. Vizetelly's Paris in Peril (1882) and Glances Back Through Seventy Years (1893) are also reissued in this series.

In the wake of German unification in 1871, Berlin became a place of increased interest to the other nations of Europe. The journalist Henry Vizetelly (1820 94) made his first journey to the capital of the new empire in 1872. Based on observations from a series of visits, this two-volume work presents a witty and detailed portrait of the city and its inhabitants. The topics covered in Volume 2 include the Prussian Landtag, the Reichstag, Berlin's places of education, its palaces, churches and museums, and its restaurants, cafes and beer gardens. Chapters on theatre, music, satire and socialism give a vivid sense of the cultural and political zeitgeist. Illustrated with hundreds of engravings from designs by German artists, the work first appeared in 1879. Vizetelly's Paris in Peril (1882) and Glances Back through Seventy Years (1893) are also reissued in this series."

Edward Vizetelly (1847 1903) was the son of the publisher Henry Vizetelly and a perceptive war correspondent. He began his career for the Daily News and New York Times, covering the Franco-Prussian War, where he narrowly escaped being shot as a spy. This work, published in 1901, recounts the next period of his career, with vivid descriptions of people and places. In 1878, Cyprus was ceded to Britain by Turkey, and Vizetelly, then in Athens, was sent to report on the Island, where he remained for four years. In 1882, he moved to Egypt, where Arab unrest led to the massacre of Europeans in Cairo and the bombardment of Alexandria by British warships. On his return to Europe in 1889, he was commissioned by the owner of the New York Herald to find H. M. Stanley, using Zanzibar as his base. He concludes with a brief summary of subsequent events in Africa.

Henry Vizetelly (1820 94), whose two-volume Glances Back through Seventy Years is also reissued in this collection, was an English journalist based in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, which concluded with the downfall of Napoleon III and the end of the second French Empire. First published in 1882, this is the first in a two-volume collection of his writings during this turbulent period. He vividly recounts his experiences of the Germans' devastating siege of Paris, setting it within a military, political and economic context. He argues that the outcome would have been less severe had the French army been better prepared, and shows how attempts to provision the capital ahead of the Prussian advance were thwarted by malnourished cattle and blocked transport links, resulting in near-starvation among the besieged. Providing a judicious narrative of a significant period in France's history, Vizetelly's eye-witness account remains of great interest.

Henry Vizetelly (1820-94), whose two-volume Glances Back through Seventy Years is also reissued in this collection, was an English journalist based in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, which concluded with the downfall of Napoleon III and the end of the second French Empire. First published in 1882, this is the second in a two-volume collection of his writings during this turbulent period. Describing the effects of the blockade of Paris on the civilian population as well as the army, he praises the continuing bravery of the French even in the face of inevitable defeat. In an interesting epilogue, he holds the French General Trochu's 'frivolous' approach accountable for the fall of Paris to the much better led Prussian army. Caricatures of the day depicted Trochu as a donkey restraining the lions of the French army - an image which was used again to great effect during the First World War.