Captain Gronow, joined the Grenadier guards as a young subaltern in 1812, having completed his studies at Eton and was widely know in England and the Continent thereafter as a raconteur and a fine pistol shot. His “Reminiscences” span four volumes in their original edition, an edited version was produced around the turn of the 19th century, having varied titles but following a stream of collected anecdotes set in distinct eras. These memoirs have achieved a high degree of fame and are justly accorded much historical respect, especially in those incidents where Gronow was personally present to record the words and deeds of those around him. Although admitted to the highest society, Gronow is far from being a snob and his works bear the stamp of a high degree of moral probity, they could not be described as the handiwork of a gossip.
In this third volume of reminiscences, military matters are in the background of Gronow’s recollections, although they do appear occasionally, he mainly focuses on anecdotes on the celebrities of his time. The Duke of Wellington, Ouvrard, Louis Philippe, Marshal Soult, Sheridan, Shelley, Rossini, Guizot, Theirs, and Louis Napoleon are featured in varying descriptions of vivid detail. Gronow goes to some length in describing the events that led to the revolution of 1851 and the movements that led Louis Napoleon to become the last monarch of France.
“Reading Gronow is like drinking champagne - effervescent and mildly addictive”
Author - Captain Rees Howell Gronow - (1794–1865)
Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1865, London, Smith, Elder and Company.
Original – 234 pages.
Linked TOC
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