Following his epic work "1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow," the much-loved author Adam Zamoyski recounts the dramatic story of the Congress of Vienna.

After his disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812, Napoleon's supreme influence in Europe began to wane, raising the question of how the continent would be rebuilt after his defeat. Many dreamed of a peace that would end all wars, taking into account the interests of both the peoples and the rulers. However, what followed was unchecked and often violent turmoil for the possession of territories by the most powerful countries, where states negotiated as if they were private properties and their inhabitants were counted like animals.

The results, determined at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, not only laid the foundations of the European world we know today but also established a social order and a security system that are rooted in many of the problems plaguing the world today. Although the decisive moments happened in Vienna, with key players including Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Austrian Minister Metternich, the Duke of Wellington, and French diplomat Talleyrand, as well as Napoleon himself, the accepted view of the meeting of statesmen who reorganized the continent in elegant salons is false. Many of the critical issues were decided on the battlefield or in filthy poor hovels during the war.

Drawing from a wide range of primary sources in six languages, which include official documents, private letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts, as well as reports from police and informants, Adam Zamoyski reveals that the new Europe was shaped by men who were victims of fear, greed, and desire, in an atmosphere of moral corruption where sexual privileges were negotiated as easily as provinces and the "souls" who inhabited them. He has created a chilling account, full of menace but also humor.

Pages: 416, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm