Comparative Study, France, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Yugoslavia, England, United States of America, Germany 

"Sybille Bedford's achievement as a writer of non-fiction matches that of her novels. She made her début with a travel book about Mexico, since republished as A visit to Don Otavio. She has written often and with expert knowledge of food and wine. Her two books on the practical working of the law The Best We Can Do : The trial of Dr Adams and the faces of justice have been as much admired by lawyers as they have been enjoyed by laymen. And this is to say nothing of her magnificent biography of Aldoux Huxley.
Here is gathered a harvest from two of her principal fields of observation: Travel, with all the delights with which it tempts the senses and the enquiring mind as well as a fair share of its trials and absurdities; and Justice, that challenge to our collective conscience, whose searchlight suddenly and dazzlingly shows up so much that would otherwise lie hidden.
The title of the collection As it Was has more than a chronological significance. The pieces are instinct with the moment at which they were written and no attempt has been made to touch them up. But the phrase also underwrites the truthfulness of the description, the authenticity of the reaction that the author records, that authenticity which she eagerly looks for, and when found celebrants, in the food and wine of the country she visits. Denmark is Denmark as seen in 1962. the winter scene in Venice was painted four years later, the charm of Portugal caught four years earlier. All are lit by the spirit of enjoyment and by that readiness to notice, to sample, to consider, to put into perspective, that gives its life-enhancing edge to her work..." - cover 

Contents:
The quality of travel: France and Italy 1961 -- The anchor and the balloon: a diary in Switzerland 1953 -- Portrait sketch of a country: Denmark 1962 -- Notes on a journey in Portugal 1958 -- A journey in Yugoslavia 1965 -- Venice in winter 1967 -- A look at judges at work: England 1965 -- The trial of Lady Chatterley's lover: Regina v Penguin Books Ltd 1960 -- Selecting the jury for the trial of Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald: Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. 1964 -- The trial of Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald: Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. -- The worst that ever happened: the trial of twenty-two former staff of Auschwitz concentration camp: Frankfurt, West Germany.