author
Charles Dawbarn
1871–1925
A British journalist and author best remembered for vivid books on France and the First World War, he wrote with the eye of a reporter and the pace of a traveler. His work often brings early-20th-century Europe close at hand, mixing contemporary politics, military affairs, and everyday observation.
1 Audiobook
Joffre and His Army
by Charles Dawbarn
About the author
Born on November 22, 1871, and dying on September 16, 1925, Charles Dawbarn wrote several books that focused especially on France and the upheavals of the First World War. Works reliably associated with him include France and the French (1911), Makers of New France (1915), France at Bay (1915), Joffre and His Army (1916), and My South African Year (1921).
Surviving records also show him working as a journalist. A catalogue entry from The National Archives identifies him as the diplomatic correspondent of The Daily Chronicle, which fits well with the international and political interests seen across his books.
Dawbarn seems to have written for readers who wanted more than headlines. His books suggest a writer interested in how nations present themselves, how war reshapes ordinary life, and how public figures and institutions influence history. For modern listeners, his work offers a snapshot of Europe as it was being transformed in the early 1900s.