At Twenty Paces follows nineteen duels, from a forgotten encounter in 1598 to the tradition's last gasp in 1967, through the courts of Europe, the salons of Paris, the duelling grounds of Calcutta, and the political chambers of the French Third Republic.

Here are politicians who nearly killed each other before sitting back down across the aisle, artists who fought over aesthetics as fiercely as their canvases, and soldiers whose private feuds rivalled their military careers. Drawing on letters, memoirs, and courtroom testimony, each chapter rebuilds not just the duel, but the world that made it seem like a reasonable way to resolve an insult.