The Spell of Belgium

The author combines personal diplomatic memoir, travel sketches, and cultural history to portray Belgium's cities, landscapes, and people before and during the war. Chapters move from life in Brussels and royal and political context to medieval architecture, guild-halls, tapestries, painters, and contemporary literature, alongside practical pieces on motoring in Flanders and regional legends. Wartime material includes battlefield descriptions, letters from the front, and accounts of relief work. Illustrated plates and a map accompany evocations of workshops, lace-making, and urban scenes, producing a blend of anecdote, art history, and eyewitness reportage.