This volume investigates the personal and historical observations of Fanny Burney during the pivotal year of 1815, capturing her experiences during the Hundred Days and the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. The text is edited by Joyce Hemlow, a preeminent scholar of Burney's work, who provides a rigorous framework of historical context and textual analysis. By compiling letters 835-934, the volume serves as a primary source document for understanding the social and political climate of early 19th-century Europe through the eyes of a prominent literary figure.

Scholars and historians regard this edition as a foundational resource for the study of Burney's life and the Regency era. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the meticulous nature of the editorial work.