Herzen is one of the most important early Russian revolutionaries. He became a representative figure in both Russia and the West as an irrepressible enemy and victim of czarist oppression. His activity as a publisher and a journalist provided a voice for the Russian opposition, and he made major theoretical contributions to the development of Russian socialist ideology.

When he traveled to Western Europe - he was never to return to Russia - Herzen became an eyewitness to the 1848 revolution in France and the rather operatic early episodes of revolution in the states of the Italian peninsula. His description of events in Paris ranks with the works of Marx and Tocqueville as a classic account of the revolution.

Herzen's letters, written for publication, are also a literary treat, with a brilliant display of wit and sensibility. The text is rich in wordplay in two or three languages, hyperbole, irony, and other literary devices. Moreover, each of Herzen's moods has its stylistic reflections: the light-hearted traveler, the angry moralist, the enraged revolutionary bystander, each using language differently but effectively.