Evans, Thomas Wiltberger. Memoirs of Dr. Thomas W. Evans: recollections of the second French empire. *$3. Appleton.
Dr. Evans, American dentist of the French court, had a particularly favorable viewpoint for first hand facts, and in becoming Napoleon III’s “eulogist and apologist” he finds “unusual opportunities of observing the evolution of political ideas and institutions in France and the conditions and causes that immediately preceded and determined the fall of the second empire as seen from within.” (Critic.) The first absolutely authentic account of Empress Eugénie’s flight from France at the time of the Commune is furnished by Dr. Evans, who himself aided in her escape.
+ + Acad. 69: 1308. D. 16, ’05. 1470w. + + – Ath. 1905, 2: 829. D. 16. 1370w.
“Dr Evans made no pretension to literary ability, but at the same time, if these ‘Memoirs’ are in his own words, he knew how to express himself in an interesting and picturesque manner.” Jeannette L. Gilder.
+ + Critic. 48: 82. Ja. ’06. 750w.
“It is evident that he could, did he choose, throw much light on the history of the Empire and its fall. The present volume, intelligently edited by his friend and executor, Dr. Crane, is ample evidence that he has so chosen. The last [part] is the most interesting, the first the least convincing.”
+ + – Lit. D. 32: 215. F. 10, ’06. 870w.
“His attempts at assuming political importance leave one unconvinced, his judgments on men and things reveal more a mixture of naiveté and self-importance than anything else, and yet there is a residium that has some claim to attention.”
– + Nation. 82: 185. Mr. 1, ’06. 360w.