This release of Captain's Hewson's narrative is a hard-cover version which has been edited by Antony Brett-James. He has taken Captain Hewson's accounts and provided an excellent introduction to the story which not only sets the scene, but explains much of the background to the narrative. It is also lavishly illustrated with both maps and pictures of the various places in France - and people.
The story itself is gripping. Captain Hewson was a Naval officer who was captured off the coast of France just after the failure of the treaty of Amiens in 1803 - and thus he became one of Napoleon's Prisoners. His march to his 'prison' in the central France town of Verdun was gruelling and he almost didn't survive. His description of his life in Verdun, the conditions and his further escape attempts are left unedited but Brett-James provides helpful footnote to help explain things.
The wonderful advantage this book has, its illustrations. They are drawn from many contemporary sources and they just brought the whole thing to life.