The Project Gutenberg EBook of 'Jena' or 'Sedan'?, by Franz Beyerlein

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Title: 'Jena' or 'Sedan'?

Author: Franz Beyerlein

Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #31099]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 'JENA' OR 'SEDAN'? ***

Produced by Charles Bowen, from scans obtained from The
Internet Archive.

Transcriber's notes:
1. Source is Web Archive
"http://www.archive.org/details/jenorsedan00beyerich."

2. [oe] is the diphthong oe.

'JENA' OR 'SEDAN'?

FROM THE GERMAN OF

FRANZ ADAM BEYERLEIN

LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN
1905

_All rights reserved_

Publisher's Note

_The German original of this novel had a larger circulation in the
first year of its career than any novel of our days, close upon one
quarter of a million copies having been sold. It was praised by some as
a superb piece of imaginative literature of the realistic school: by
others it has been anathematised as a libel on the great army that made
Modern Germany. The truth about it is probably best summarised in the
words of a reviewer of the_ "_Daily Mail_":

"_The author holds up the mirror with impartiality, without
fear or passion, and with an unmistakably friendly intention,
and asks_, '_Where art thou going? Towards Jena or Sedan?_'"

_It is perhaps unnecessary to remind the English reader in
explanation of the title that Jena stands for French supremacy and
German defeat--Sedan for German victory and a French debacle; but he
should be warned that in this truthful mirror of life there may be
details liable to shock insular notions. The author could not shrink
from such in the fulfilment of his task, which was to give the
truth--the whole truth and nothing but the truth. His work must be
judged not only as a novel (and assuredly as such it is a most
admirable and artistic piece of work), but it must be regarded also as
the cry of a patriot wh