The only available edition in English of the greatest of all French autobiographies By the time he came to write his extraordinary, highly entertaining memoirs, Chateaubriand had witnessed some of the iconic figures and events of French history—from the court of Louis XVI, to the reign of Napoleon, to the disaster of Waterloo, to life under the Restoration. Written across different times and places, Memoirs from Beyond the Tomb tells of exotic adventures to the farthest points of the globe, of heroic battles and political struggles, and of the loneliness of a restless soul. And its startling candor—because it would be published only “from beyond the tomb”—makes it almost ridiculously enjoyable. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) was the most conspicuous figure in French literature during the First Empire and is credited as the founder of French Romanticism.  Robert Baldick (1927-1972) was a fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and a translator of a wide range of French authors. Philip Mansel is the author of over a dozen books on French history and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Literature.