This charming and spirited story of the extraordinary European nation begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Swiss people amongst the challenging landscape of the rugged Alps, and follows their tale through the development of feudalism, the struggle for control by warlords, the Thirty Years War, and into the aftermath of the French Revolution.

First published in 1832, this is a tale of dramatic splendor performed by captivating personalities-here is a work of classic history that will delete Europhiles and students of the past alike.

Scottish author JOHN WILSON (1785-1854) sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Christopher North" for Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. He is also the author of Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life (1822), The Trials of Margaret Lyndsay (1823), and The Foresters (1825), among other works.