This is the combined edition of Ivor Guest's classic two-volume study of the ballet of the Second Empire. An unjustly neglected phase of ballet history, the Second Empire is a continuation of the great Romantic period. All the important figures are vividly brought to life in these pages: Fanny Cerrito, Carlotta Grisi, Carolina Rosati, Amalia Ferraris and the brilliant but tragic Emma Livry. Now established as the authoritative account, The Ballet of the Second Empire is set against the social, literary and artistic background of the time. With many amusing sidelights, the book gives a rich picture of one of the most colourful periods in French social history.