Its publication was interrupted by the revolution of 1848, when Louis Blanc became a member of the provisional government.
As far back as 1839 Louis Blanc had vehemently opposed the idea of a Napoleonic restoration, predicting that it would be "despotism without glory," "the Empire without the Emperor."
Louis Blanc possessed a picturesque and vivid style, and considerable power of research; but the fervour with which he expressed his convictions, while placing him in the first rank of orators, tended to turn his historical writings into political pamphlets.
Thence for a short way the direction is north to the Col de la Seigne, and then north-east along the crest of the Mont Blanc chain, which culminates in the peak of Mont Blanc (15,782 ft.), the loftiest in the Alps.
In the case of the Western Alps (minus the bit from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for the Alpine region took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphine and Provence.
