Europe in the Looking Glass

First published in 1926 by George Routledge and Sons: London, now public domain. In 1925, after being kicked out of Oxford University for “misdemeanors” and mooching aimlessly around London, Robert Byron and two friends left for the Continent. As with his famous namesake before him, this would be a Grand Tour, but one done by car. Byron’s wry and informative account languished out of print for almost a hundred years. Now it has been rescued and republished, enabling us to rediscover Byron and catch a fascinating glimpse of post-war Europe and its relatively sunny calm before the sun blacked out.