author
Comte de Auguste Louis Charles La Garde-Chambonas
b. 1783
A French memoirist and man of letters, he is best remembered for lively recollections of the Congress of Vienna and the society surrounding it. His writing offers a firsthand glimpse of aristocratic Europe in the years after Napoleon.
1 Audiobook
Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna
by Comte de Auguste Louis Charles La Garde-Chambonas
About the author
Born in Paris in 1783, Auguste Louis Charles de La Garde-Chambonas came from a French noble family and was orphaned very early in life. Contemporary biographical notes say he was raised by his uncle, General Victor-Scipion de La Garde-Chambonas, whom he regarded almost as a father.
He became known as a writer, poet, and memoirist. His best-known work looks back on the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, capturing the ceremonies, personalities, and social world around one of Europe's most important diplomatic gatherings.
Today he is mainly remembered for that blend of personal memory and historical observation. For readers of memoir and history, his work is appealing not just for the events it describes, but for the vivid, anecdotal way he brings an era to life.