Frederic Reitlinger

Born in Vienna in 1825, Frederic Reitlinger later worked as a diplomat and moved in political circles in Europe. He is associated above all with A Diplomat's Memoir of 1870, a firsthand narrative centered on the Siege of Paris and his dramatic balloon escape from the city.

That book was published in the late 19th century and presents both personal adventure and political observation, giving readers a ground-level view of a turbulent moment in European history. Reitlinger's perspective as both participant and observer helps make the memoir especially memorable.

Reliable biographical details about his wider life appear to be scarce in the sources I could confirm, so it is safest to remember him chiefly as a diplomat-author whose surviving reputation rests on this unusual and compelling war memoir.