What do you think?
Rate this book
The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte: A Biography
After plunging Europe into a terrible war, Napoleon died on Elba in 1821.Five years later his contemporary Sir Walter Scott wrote a brilliant debunking biography that stirred up international controversy for its thundering assault on the Napoleon legend. It so inflamed the French that Napoleon’s most-trusted general challenged Scott to a duel. Originally designed on a grand scale in nine volumes and over a million words, Scott’s monumental work is published again in one concise volume.This new edition retains his first-hand insights, elegant construction, page-turning writing and painstaking attention to detail, while selecting the parts that provide a fresh and authoritative take on Napoleon (including the ill-fated march to Moscow) for the modern historian. Published simultaneously in German, French, Italian and Spanish, the book was an international phenomenon. Scott’s research took advantage of privileged access to government papers as well as those of the main players, including the Duke of Wellington and important French generals. His life of Napoleon stands out not least because of his skilful portrayal of genuine people in both the smallest and most significant events.
‘Delightful...Walter Scott recalls to me the incidents on which through life I have mediated, and the influence of which is still in daily operation’ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sir Walter Scott (15 August 1771-21 September 1832) was a lawyer, poet, translator, historian and novelist. His classics works, such as Ivanhoe and Waverley, remain in print today. He was two years younger than Napoleon, whose biography was the only historical work he ever wrote. It was to inspire the approach of later historians Lord Macaulay and Thomas Carlyle.
Endeavour Press is the UK’s leading independent publisher of digital books.
‘Delightful...Walter Scott recalls to me the incidents on which through life I have mediated, and the influence of which is still in daily operation’ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sir Walter Scott (15 August 1771-21 September 1832) was a lawyer, poet, translator, historian and novelist. His classics works, such as Ivanhoe and Waverley, remain in print today. He was two years younger than Napoleon, whose biography was the only historical work he ever wrote. It was to inspire the approach of later historians Lord Macaulay and Thomas Carlyle.
Endeavour Press is the UK’s leading independent publisher of digital books.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1827
55 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Walter Scott
8,492 books2,045 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer, widely recognized as the founder and master of the historical novel. His most celebrated works, including Waverley, Rob Roy, and Ivanhoe, helped shape not only the genre of historical fiction but also modern perceptions of Scottish culture and identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1771, Scott was the son of a solicitor and a mother with a strong interest in literature and history. At the age of two, he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He spent much of his childhood in the Scottish Borders, where he developed a deep fascination with the region's folklore, ballads, and history. He studied at Edinburgh High School and later at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying as a lawyer in 1792. Though he worked in law for some time, his literary ambitions soon took precedence.
Scott began his literary career with translations and collections of traditional ballads, notably in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. He gained early fame with narrative poems such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake. As the popularity of poetic storytelling declined, especially with the rise of Lord Byron, Scott turned to prose. His first novel, Waverley, published anonymously in 1814, was set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and is considered the first true historical novel. The success of Waverley led to a long series of novels, known collectively as the Waverley Novels, which blended historical events with compelling fictional narratives.
Over the following years, Scott produced a remarkable number of novels, including Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride of Lammermoor, each contributing to the romantic image of Scotland that became popular throughout Europe. With Ivanhoe, published in 1819, he turned his attention to medieval England, broadening his appeal and confirming his status as a major literary figure. His works were not only popular in his own time but also laid the groundwork for historical fiction as a respected literary form.
Scott married Charlotte Genevieve Charpentier in 1797, and they had five children. In 1820, he was granted a baronetcy and became Sir Walter Scott. He built a grand home, Abbotsford House, near Melrose, which reflected his passion for history and the Scottish past. However, in 1825, financial disaster struck when his publishers went bankrupt. Rather than declare bankruptcy himself, Scott chose to work tirelessly to pay off the debts through his writing. He continued to produce novels and non-fiction works at a staggering pace despite declining health.
Walter Scott died in 1832, leaving behind a literary legacy that influenced generations of writers and readers. His works remain widely read and studied, and he is credited with helping to revive interest in Scottish history and culture. Abbotsford House, now a museum, stands as a monument to his life and achievements.
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer, widely recognized as the founder and master of the historical novel. His most celebrated works, including Waverley, Rob Roy, and Ivanhoe, helped shape not only the genre of historical fiction but also modern perceptions of Scottish culture and identity.
Born in Edinburgh in 1771, Scott was the son of a solicitor and a mother with a strong interest in literature and history. At the age of two, he contracted polio, which left him with a permanent limp. He spent much of his childhood in the Scottish Borders, where he developed a deep fascination with the region's folklore, ballads, and history. He studied at Edinburgh High School and later at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying as a lawyer in 1792. Though he worked in law for some time, his literary ambitions soon took precedence.
Scott began his literary career with translations and collections of traditional ballads, notably in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. He gained early fame with narrative poems such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel and The Lady of the Lake. As the popularity of poetic storytelling declined, especially with the rise of Lord Byron, Scott turned to prose. His first novel, Waverley, published anonymously in 1814, was set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and is considered the first true historical novel. The success of Waverley led to a long series of novels, known collectively as the Waverley Novels, which blended historical events with compelling fictional narratives.
Over the following years, Scott produced a remarkable number of novels, including Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, and The Bride of Lammermoor, each contributing to the romantic image of Scotland that became popular throughout Europe. With Ivanhoe, published in 1819, he turned his attention to medieval England, broadening his appeal and confirming his status as a major literary figure. His works were not only popular in his own time but also laid the groundwork for historical fiction as a respected literary form.
Scott married Charlotte Genevieve Charpentier in 1797, and they had five children. In 1820, he was granted a baronetcy and became Sir Walter Scott. He built a grand home, Abbotsford House, near Melrose, which reflected his passion for history and the Scottish past. However, in 1825, financial disaster struck when his publishers went bankrupt. Rather than declare bankruptcy himself, Scott chose to work tirelessly to pay off the debts through his writing. He continued to produce novels and non-fiction works at a staggering pace despite declining health.
Walter Scott died in 1832, leaving behind a literary legacy that influenced generations of writers and readers. His works remain widely read and studied, and he is credited with helping to revive interest in Scottish history and culture. Abbotsford House, now a museum, stands as a monument to his life and achievements.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 23, 2022
Excellent. A real joy to read!
For all that Scott's occasionally stodgy prose style has dated somewhat, this a very enjoyable and highly readable rendering of one of history's most written about lives. Quite why, after its huge initial success - published simultaneously in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, it sold fast in several editions, earning Scott a fortune - this particular account has been out of print for so long is, frankly, quite perplexing. Okay, most readers might well find the original nine volumes rather too much, but there have always been both full and abridged versions of Gibbons' Decline & Fall for readers to choose between. Why not the same with this?
In this truncated single-volume edition there remain, setting aside issues of opinion and interpretation, some factual errors. But how much history can claim to be entirely free of error? Despite these occasional errors, and whether or not you share Scott's opinions, I think this is a very good contribution to a crowded field. It's also of great interest because Scott was more or less contemporary with Bonaparte, so this is a very full account from a great writer - and this is Scott's only purely historical work - close to the time of the events (the fulsome praise Goethe, another contemporary, gave Scott's account is quoted on the dust jacket).
Even in this highly abridged form Scott's history is very good in that it covers such areas as Napoleon's civil and domestic activities, often treated as extraneous by authors more interested in the story of his military glory. This extensive scope, even in this cut down form, also brought to light interesting information new to me regarding the two periods of Boney's exile, on Elba and St. Helena.
Apparently a combination of professional jealousy from academic historians - who sometimes seek to denigrate the efforts of 'amateurs', then as now - and the issue of how partisan an author he may be may lie behind the descent into obscurity that befell Scott's account. It seems to me that Scott always seeks to be fair to Bonaparte, and in most instances judges him favourably. But it is also quite clear, and becomes ever more so as the book continues, and Boney's fortunes wane, along with those of France and much of Europe, that Scott is no uncritical Boneyphile. But, frankly, most English writers I've read seem distinctly and often far more acidly Boneyphobic. And in fact, in comparison to some, most of Scott's critiques seem both entirely moderate and quite reasonable.
In the end neither Scott's skills - or supposed lack of them - as a historian, nor his views, seem sufficient to explain the books 150 year disappearance. Richard Michaelis, who compiled this edited single-volume version addresses all of these issues in his very interesting introduction. So, is it merely that we've had to wait for someone like Michaelis to create an abridgement? Whatever the reasons are, I'm massively grateful to him, and his publishers Gibson Square, for making this excellent account available again, even in this truncated form. I found it very compelling, and the many small chapters (always a good arrangement) just flew by. Perhaps at some point the full nine-volume version will come back on to the market? If it does, I reckon I'd be amongst those game enough to read it.
Unlike many books on this subject - perhaps even including Scott's own original nine volume edition? - this has no maps or other illustrations (aside from Gros' painting*, of the young Bonaparte on the bridge at Arcole, on the dust-jacket cover), which is a pity. Maps are really essential in books of this sort. Still, if you've either learned the geography of Boney's campaigns, or have at hand something like Esposito and Elting's superb Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, you'll be okay.
As a voracious reader of Napoleonic history this has made a very welcome addition to my small but ever growing Napoleonic library, and is, I think, a well-deserved return to the fold for a lost sheep from the Napoleonic flock. All in all, excellent. I would unhesitatingly recommend this.
* Which painting, by strange coincidence, also graces the cover of the previous Napoleonic book I reviewed on Amazon, Boycott-Brown's Road To Rivoli !
For all that Scott's occasionally stodgy prose style has dated somewhat, this a very enjoyable and highly readable rendering of one of history's most written about lives. Quite why, after its huge initial success - published simultaneously in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, it sold fast in several editions, earning Scott a fortune - this particular account has been out of print for so long is, frankly, quite perplexing. Okay, most readers might well find the original nine volumes rather too much, but there have always been both full and abridged versions of Gibbons' Decline & Fall for readers to choose between. Why not the same with this?
In this truncated single-volume edition there remain, setting aside issues of opinion and interpretation, some factual errors. But how much history can claim to be entirely free of error? Despite these occasional errors, and whether or not you share Scott's opinions, I think this is a very good contribution to a crowded field. It's also of great interest because Scott was more or less contemporary with Bonaparte, so this is a very full account from a great writer - and this is Scott's only purely historical work - close to the time of the events (the fulsome praise Goethe, another contemporary, gave Scott's account is quoted on the dust jacket).
Even in this highly abridged form Scott's history is very good in that it covers such areas as Napoleon's civil and domestic activities, often treated as extraneous by authors more interested in the story of his military glory. This extensive scope, even in this cut down form, also brought to light interesting information new to me regarding the two periods of Boney's exile, on Elba and St. Helena.
Apparently a combination of professional jealousy from academic historians - who sometimes seek to denigrate the efforts of 'amateurs', then as now - and the issue of how partisan an author he may be may lie behind the descent into obscurity that befell Scott's account. It seems to me that Scott always seeks to be fair to Bonaparte, and in most instances judges him favourably. But it is also quite clear, and becomes ever more so as the book continues, and Boney's fortunes wane, along with those of France and much of Europe, that Scott is no uncritical Boneyphile. But, frankly, most English writers I've read seem distinctly and often far more acidly Boneyphobic. And in fact, in comparison to some, most of Scott's critiques seem both entirely moderate and quite reasonable.
In the end neither Scott's skills - or supposed lack of them - as a historian, nor his views, seem sufficient to explain the books 150 year disappearance. Richard Michaelis, who compiled this edited single-volume version addresses all of these issues in his very interesting introduction. So, is it merely that we've had to wait for someone like Michaelis to create an abridgement? Whatever the reasons are, I'm massively grateful to him, and his publishers Gibson Square, for making this excellent account available again, even in this truncated form. I found it very compelling, and the many small chapters (always a good arrangement) just flew by. Perhaps at some point the full nine-volume version will come back on to the market? If it does, I reckon I'd be amongst those game enough to read it.
Unlike many books on this subject - perhaps even including Scott's own original nine volume edition? - this has no maps or other illustrations (aside from Gros' painting*, of the young Bonaparte on the bridge at Arcole, on the dust-jacket cover), which is a pity. Maps are really essential in books of this sort. Still, if you've either learned the geography of Boney's campaigns, or have at hand something like Esposito and Elting's superb Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, you'll be okay.
As a voracious reader of Napoleonic history this has made a very welcome addition to my small but ever growing Napoleonic library, and is, I think, a well-deserved return to the fold for a lost sheep from the Napoleonic flock. All in all, excellent. I would unhesitatingly recommend this.
* Which painting, by strange coincidence, also graces the cover of the previous Napoleonic book I reviewed on Amazon, Boycott-Brown's Road To Rivoli !
April 8, 2018
An excellent account of the life of one of the most enigmatic leader of the human race. Sir Walter Scott's command of English language is impeccable, the book would be a pleasure to read just to admire the use of language by the author. But its not only the language, the book provides a honest and thorough account of the great man. It shows that life of great man need not always beyond reproach, everybody has their own turmoils in life and Napoleon was no different. He had his own fears and doubts though still maintaining a strong belief in his own invincibility and righteousness. For Napoleon war was the only way of life and the only recourse for a man to attain glory, the great man can be faulted there, he was just the product of his time. Napoleon almost conquered all of Europe and bit of beyond but still ended up spending the last days of his life, a soletory prisoner on a small island, pinning to see his wife and son. This shows the fragility of life and also travails of fate from even the greatest of greats cannot escape. I thoroughly enjoyed this biography both to learn more about the life of Napoleon but also to understand the time & society under which he lived.
August 12, 2015
[This review was solicited by the publisher, and is based on the text of a provided review copy]
Walter Scott was in love with history, and many of his novels feel less like he had an urgent story to tell, but rather that he was looking for an excuse to romp around various romantic eras and brush up against significant historical characters. That he would become ensnared by the gravity of one of history’s most dominating personalities, and indeed live during the same era, seems obvious and inevitable.
As Napoleon did everyone the courtesy of leaving behind a rich and complicated wake, Scott was able in this volume to forgo his usual tendency of shoehorning some hapless everyman into European history, and instead adhere to the story of the Emperor himself. Free from any obligation to narrative invention, Scott delivers a whirlwind, no-frills account that avoids, when possible, condoning or condemning Buonoparte. As a historical fetishist, Scott doesn’t hesitate to throw around the names of political and military actors with minimal exposition. He excels at describing, sometimes in tedious detail, the complicated military maneuvers that characterized Napoleon’s strategic brilliance. If you can keep up with Scott’s historical dexterity, this is some of the work’s best material: the journey from military prodigy toying with the Austrian empire, to his dazzling Italian adventures, to being relegated to a quagmire campaign in Egypt by the French powers-that-be, to his antagonistic return to Paris. This is all sharply recounted and the reader is ready to cheer when the young general turns the tables on the French legislature and assumes the mantle of power.
Throughout all of this, Scott remains a neutral, if enthusiastic, observer. Napoleon’s harsher character flaws aren’t neglected, but in this first half of the work, the author is clearly more interested in the furious momentum of his subject’s rise to power.
To his credit, when Buonoparte’s demons begin getting the better of him in the back half of the story, Scott doesn’t hesitate to cast judgement. But even in the Emperor’s worst moments, his biographer holds him in obvious esteem. He can never get away from the fact that in spite of his flaws, and perhaps because of them, Napoleon accomplished incredible feats, not all of which were bad. Scott’s verdict is thus succinctly summed up:
“If, instead of asserting that he never committed a crime, he had limited his self-eulogy to asserting that, in attaining and wielding supreme power, he had resisted the temptation to commit many, he could not have been contradicted”
Scott seems to decide that as despotic megalomaniacs go, Europe could have done a lot worse than Napoleon Buonoparte. Few more fascinating figures have lived in modern times than Napoleon Buonoparte, and few authors could have captured his nobility and monstrousness with such a keen eye as Scott. For fans of this period, fans of history and general, and fans of Walter Scott’s fastidious prose, this is a recommended read.
*************
A few notes about the text in this edition, published by Endeavor Press.
1) There are a LOT of punctuation errors. Random commas and periods abound to the rate of a misplaced punctuation mark every few pages.
2) Inconsistent formatting. When toggling between Scott’s prose, quoted correspondence, and editorial notes, there are inconsistently applied formatting decisions. Sometimes notes are italicized (usually to indicate where an abridgement has taken place), and sometimes there are quotation marks around correspondences. But quotes aren’t always used, and neither are italics. Indeed, as one chapter begins, it reads like Scott going on about his descriptive business, when suddenly the text refers to Scott in the third person and begins describing a passage that Scott had written. It appeared to be an abridgement buried in the middle of a paragraph that otherwise looked like something Scott had written! It could easily have been a mistake, and I certainly didn’t feel like Scott’s prose had been tampered with in any significant way. But the integrity of the text has been breached nonetheless.
3) I’m sure some people prefer abridged texts. I am a stubborn reader, and prefer to take in every word an author saw fit to write. I think shortcuts in reading are nothing less than cheating. But to each his own. That said, some of the omissions left big holes in the narrative. The glaring example that left me tangibly frustrated was the abridgement of Bourbon monarchy’s rocky return to power during Napoleon’s first exile. Scott is so good at laying out the complicated social and political dynamics at play, and this relationship between King Louis and the French people is such a vital factor in Buonoparte’s brief return to power, that to see it glossed over with a few sentences from the editor left me feeling unsatisfied. There are also several battles that are abridged, and as Scott’s handling of Napoleon’s strategic wizardry is one of the highlights of the book, further reading about these episodes would have been greatly appreciated. It is wholly possible that they were tedious and unnecessary, but that ultimately, that’s my problem with abridged texts: I don’t get a chance to judge that for myself.
On the whole, none of these issues crippled my enjoyment of the book, but they are worth noting. I’d still highly recommend the work if the subject and author appeal to you.
Walter Scott was in love with history, and many of his novels feel less like he had an urgent story to tell, but rather that he was looking for an excuse to romp around various romantic eras and brush up against significant historical characters. That he would become ensnared by the gravity of one of history’s most dominating personalities, and indeed live during the same era, seems obvious and inevitable.
As Napoleon did everyone the courtesy of leaving behind a rich and complicated wake, Scott was able in this volume to forgo his usual tendency of shoehorning some hapless everyman into European history, and instead adhere to the story of the Emperor himself. Free from any obligation to narrative invention, Scott delivers a whirlwind, no-frills account that avoids, when possible, condoning or condemning Buonoparte. As a historical fetishist, Scott doesn’t hesitate to throw around the names of political and military actors with minimal exposition. He excels at describing, sometimes in tedious detail, the complicated military maneuvers that characterized Napoleon’s strategic brilliance. If you can keep up with Scott’s historical dexterity, this is some of the work’s best material: the journey from military prodigy toying with the Austrian empire, to his dazzling Italian adventures, to being relegated to a quagmire campaign in Egypt by the French powers-that-be, to his antagonistic return to Paris. This is all sharply recounted and the reader is ready to cheer when the young general turns the tables on the French legislature and assumes the mantle of power.
Throughout all of this, Scott remains a neutral, if enthusiastic, observer. Napoleon’s harsher character flaws aren’t neglected, but in this first half of the work, the author is clearly more interested in the furious momentum of his subject’s rise to power.
To his credit, when Buonoparte’s demons begin getting the better of him in the back half of the story, Scott doesn’t hesitate to cast judgement. But even in the Emperor’s worst moments, his biographer holds him in obvious esteem. He can never get away from the fact that in spite of his flaws, and perhaps because of them, Napoleon accomplished incredible feats, not all of which were bad. Scott’s verdict is thus succinctly summed up:
“If, instead of asserting that he never committed a crime, he had limited his self-eulogy to asserting that, in attaining and wielding supreme power, he had resisted the temptation to commit many, he could not have been contradicted”
Scott seems to decide that as despotic megalomaniacs go, Europe could have done a lot worse than Napoleon Buonoparte. Few more fascinating figures have lived in modern times than Napoleon Buonoparte, and few authors could have captured his nobility and monstrousness with such a keen eye as Scott. For fans of this period, fans of history and general, and fans of Walter Scott’s fastidious prose, this is a recommended read.
*************
A few notes about the text in this edition, published by Endeavor Press.
1) There are a LOT of punctuation errors. Random commas and periods abound to the rate of a misplaced punctuation mark every few pages.
2) Inconsistent formatting. When toggling between Scott’s prose, quoted correspondence, and editorial notes, there are inconsistently applied formatting decisions. Sometimes notes are italicized (usually to indicate where an abridgement has taken place), and sometimes there are quotation marks around correspondences. But quotes aren’t always used, and neither are italics. Indeed, as one chapter begins, it reads like Scott going on about his descriptive business, when suddenly the text refers to Scott in the third person and begins describing a passage that Scott had written. It appeared to be an abridgement buried in the middle of a paragraph that otherwise looked like something Scott had written! It could easily have been a mistake, and I certainly didn’t feel like Scott’s prose had been tampered with in any significant way. But the integrity of the text has been breached nonetheless.
3) I’m sure some people prefer abridged texts. I am a stubborn reader, and prefer to take in every word an author saw fit to write. I think shortcuts in reading are nothing less than cheating. But to each his own. That said, some of the omissions left big holes in the narrative. The glaring example that left me tangibly frustrated was the abridgement of Bourbon monarchy’s rocky return to power during Napoleon’s first exile. Scott is so good at laying out the complicated social and political dynamics at play, and this relationship between King Louis and the French people is such a vital factor in Buonoparte’s brief return to power, that to see it glossed over with a few sentences from the editor left me feeling unsatisfied. There are also several battles that are abridged, and as Scott’s handling of Napoleon’s strategic wizardry is one of the highlights of the book, further reading about these episodes would have been greatly appreciated. It is wholly possible that they were tedious and unnecessary, but that ultimately, that’s my problem with abridged texts: I don’t get a chance to judge that for myself.
On the whole, none of these issues crippled my enjoyment of the book, but they are worth noting. I’d still highly recommend the work if the subject and author appeal to you.
September 15, 2015
This biography is condensed from the volumes on Napoleon by Sir Walter Scott, who lived during Napoleon’s life and reign as Emperor of France. This fact alone makes this an excellent source of information for Napoleon’s life from the perspective of a contemporary.
Most people today think of Napoleon as a win at all costs military leader whose sole ambition led to continuous war and extreme loss of life. Sir Walter Scott goes beyond this and into what character traits Napoleon possessed that allowed him to go from chastised family member in Corsica to the Emperor of France. Scott first gives great anecdotes on his education and intelligence, especially within math and science where he excelled and distinguished himself. Like many of the other conquerors of the world such as Hitler, Napoleon had a photographic memory, able to memorize maps, battlefields and history. Secondly, he was prideful, showing signs of this at a young age. When he lost a bet and had to dress as a woman at school, ”his pride felt the indignity so severe that it brought on a severe nervous attack”. The third character trait Scott touches on throughout the book that I didn’t expect was how emotional Napoleon could be. Whether it was not being able to stomach seeing his soldiers in pain and duress or the humiliation he felt when learning of Josephine’s affair, Napoleon has more emotional depth than I would have thought.
While there are periods in the book focused on his character and personality traits, this biography is more tactical than other biographies on Napoleon. It is an outstanding chronicle of all the invasions Napoleon led if you are interested in military history. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have felt like to be a soldier under Napoleon, enduring campaigns sometimes without tents, camp equipment, magazines of provisions, or military hospitals. The soldiers ate, slept and died where they could; but still advancing, still combating and still victorious always. And despite the deplorable conditions, they loved their emperor which is a great indicator of what an outstanding leader and motivator he was. Scott gives several examples of this type of loyalty amongst the soldiers of both French decent as well as conquered territories.
Sir Walter Scott remains balanced though by offsetting these stories with examples of his occasional brutality that left stains on his legacy amongst the citizens of France. The death of the Duke and Pichegru greatly injured his character as a man but also in like proportion his power, and his determination to deploy it to the utmost extremity against whomever may oppose him.
If there is one area I wish he would have touched more on, it would be his relationship with Josephine. Several times he states that Josephine evolved into a great Empress really did love him. She had the ability to satiate his temper and give advice. However there weren’t as many anecdotes speaking to the ups and downs of their relationship.
Napoleon’s eventual demise after Waterloo is abrupt, but I enjoyed this part of the book talking about Napoleon’s loneliness and lack of purpose when in exile. The end of his life is quite sad, and Sir Walter Scott paints a realistic picture of the rise, fall and ultimate legacy Napoleon.
Most people today think of Napoleon as a win at all costs military leader whose sole ambition led to continuous war and extreme loss of life. Sir Walter Scott goes beyond this and into what character traits Napoleon possessed that allowed him to go from chastised family member in Corsica to the Emperor of France. Scott first gives great anecdotes on his education and intelligence, especially within math and science where he excelled and distinguished himself. Like many of the other conquerors of the world such as Hitler, Napoleon had a photographic memory, able to memorize maps, battlefields and history. Secondly, he was prideful, showing signs of this at a young age. When he lost a bet and had to dress as a woman at school, ”his pride felt the indignity so severe that it brought on a severe nervous attack”. The third character trait Scott touches on throughout the book that I didn’t expect was how emotional Napoleon could be. Whether it was not being able to stomach seeing his soldiers in pain and duress or the humiliation he felt when learning of Josephine’s affair, Napoleon has more emotional depth than I would have thought.
While there are periods in the book focused on his character and personality traits, this biography is more tactical than other biographies on Napoleon. It is an outstanding chronicle of all the invasions Napoleon led if you are interested in military history. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must have felt like to be a soldier under Napoleon, enduring campaigns sometimes without tents, camp equipment, magazines of provisions, or military hospitals. The soldiers ate, slept and died where they could; but still advancing, still combating and still victorious always. And despite the deplorable conditions, they loved their emperor which is a great indicator of what an outstanding leader and motivator he was. Scott gives several examples of this type of loyalty amongst the soldiers of both French decent as well as conquered territories.
Sir Walter Scott remains balanced though by offsetting these stories with examples of his occasional brutality that left stains on his legacy amongst the citizens of France. The death of the Duke and Pichegru greatly injured his character as a man but also in like proportion his power, and his determination to deploy it to the utmost extremity against whomever may oppose him.
If there is one area I wish he would have touched more on, it would be his relationship with Josephine. Several times he states that Josephine evolved into a great Empress really did love him. She had the ability to satiate his temper and give advice. However there weren’t as many anecdotes speaking to the ups and downs of their relationship.
Napoleon’s eventual demise after Waterloo is abrupt, but I enjoyed this part of the book talking about Napoleon’s loneliness and lack of purpose when in exile. The end of his life is quite sad, and Sir Walter Scott paints a realistic picture of the rise, fall and ultimate legacy Napoleon.
July 24, 2015
I was fortunate enough to receive this book for free from Endeavour Press. Scott's look at the life of Napoleon whilst sometimes archaic in language, is overall highly readable and has been updated to correct inaccuracies.
The book focuses very much of Napoleon's militaristic endeavours in great detail and is certainly very insightful in this respect.
The conclusion was sound and very enlightening. Although I would however have liked to have seen citation of sources with a bibliography.
This book thus provides a detailed account of the career of Napoleon and is definitely worth a read.
The book focuses very much of Napoleon's militaristic endeavours in great detail and is certainly very insightful in this respect.
The conclusion was sound and very enlightening. Although I would however have liked to have seen citation of sources with a bibliography.
This book thus provides a detailed account of the career of Napoleon and is definitely worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews