Napoleon III and the Disastrous Battle of Sedan in 1870
Edward Shawcross traces the course of the Battle of Sedan in September 1870, a defeat that would spell the end for the Second Empire.
France
A collection of 10 Posts
Philip Augustus, Medieval England’s Greatest Enemy
Catherine Hanley considers the legacy of a brilliant leader
What Was The Maginot Line?
Kevin Passmore examines one of the great defensive fortifications in modern history
Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle with Richard Vinen
Richard Vinen tells us about his biographical study of 'the last titans'
A Remarkable Railway Crash at Montparnasse in Paris (1895)
The day in 1895 when a locomotive ploughed through the wall of Montparnasse Station
The Dazzling Countess of Castiglione (1865)
In the 1860s, 'La Divine Comtesse' was considered the most beautiful woman of her day
The Construction of the Eiffel Tower (1888)
The Parisian skyline was changing in a strange and stirring way in July 1888 when Gustave Eiffel led a tour of his majestic new tower
Sandbags Inside Amiens Cathedral (1918)
A journalist describes a poignant service in a barricaded and subdued church
The Academie
Anna Mazzolla tells a story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom, inspired by the real-life disappearance of children in pre-revolutionary Paris
