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The Bourbons of Naples: (1734-1825)
A classic of European history, long out of print, written by a celebrated aesthete and historian. Before the unification of Italy in 1870, Naples was the capital of the largest of the separate Italian kingdoms. Ruled for more than 100 years by the Bourbons, one of the most eccentric and pleasure-seeking of European dynasties, Naples attracted aristocratic travelers by the hundreds; it also attracted the armies of revolutionary France. Sir Harold Acton, who had unique access to state and private archives, wrote The Bourbons of Naples over 40 years ago. Teeming with unforgettable characters, royal eccentrics, court intrigue, and the vivid events of 18th-century Italy, it is a masterpiece of modern historical writing. 750 pp 6 x 9 8 pp b/w illustrations
750 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
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About the author
Harold Acton
55 books14 followersSir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton was a British writer, scholar and dilettante who is probably most famous for being believed, incorrectly, to have inspired the character of "Anthony Blanche" in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited (1945).
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January 21, 2026
Harold Acton Skillfully Narrates The Lives And Reigns Of The Bourbons Of Naples, During The Period From 1734-1825.
In the prologue to Part I of Harold Acton's epic, dual-volume chronicle of the Bourbons of Naples, the author introduces his audience to the splendor and magnificence of the region's capital city, emphasizing Naples' classical Greek heritage and briefly outlining its history first under the Angevins of France from 1266-1442, and then the Aragonese House of Trastámara from 1442-1501. After a short return to French suzerainty from 1501-4, Naples was reconquered in 1504 by Ferdinand II of Aragon, and it was via the marriage between his daughter Joanna III and Archduke Philip the Handsome that their child, who became Charles V Habsburg, came to inherit the city and region in 1516, due to Philip's early death and Joanna's fragile mental state which made it difficult for her to participate in diplomatic affairs.
The unique circumstances that had brought about Charles VII's reign over Naples and Sicily were complicated to say the least. Charles' suzerainty on the Italian Peninsula began with his inheritance of the Romagnol cities of Parma and Piacenza upon the death in 1731 of his maternal great-uncle Antonio Farnese. Naples at that time was under Austrian rule, making it a subject state of the Holy Roman Empire, and by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht which had ended the War of the Spanish Succession, Imperial Austria and Bourbon Spain were technically at peace.
However, the Pacte de Famille, also known as the Bourbon Compact of 1733, allowed the Bourbon-ruled countries of France and Spain to assist one another in certain military scenarios, and the treaty's other terms also stipulated Spanish rights over Naples and Sicily, which were at that time both under Austrian dominion. This led to the Spanish invasion of Naples in 1734, an operation which was placed in the charge of the eighteen-year-old Charles, who was at the time not thought likely to become the Crown Prince, and as a non-inheriting male child of the royal family was still considered an Infante of Spain.
This U.K. trade paperback edition of Harold Acton's The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) is published by Faber Finds, an imprint of Faber and Faber Ltd. that specializes in out-of-print books and is a constantly evolving project organized by writers, editors and readers which seeks to return to print many of these beloved books from yesteryear. The 730-page main text is divided into 36 chapters, each featuring a descriptive title summarizing the events discussed therein. There are also acknowledgments and a 10-page prologue introducing the reader to the rich history of the Naples region, as well as an 8-page bibliography and index at the back of the volume.
In Chapter I - Elizabeth Farnese's ambitions for her elder son Don Carlos - His departure for Italy, 1731 - His arrival in Tuscany and Parma - Spain declares war on Austria, 1733 - The Spanish invasion of Naples, 1734 - Don Carlos enters his new capital, May 10 - Conquest of Sicily - Coronation of King Charles in Palermo - His festive return to Naples, Acton provides a colorful, eloquent description of Charles' Siege of Castel Nuovo, which transpired during the Spanish conquest of Naples, and alongside those of the Neapolitan fortresses of Castello del Carmine, Castel Sant' Elmo and Castel dell' Ovo, was undertaken in a manner that was considered chivalrous during the Age of Enlightenment in which it occurred. In the wake of the Austrian garrison's surrender after the Castel Sant' Elmo's five-day investment, the natural-born French officer in charge of the operation, Count de Charney, quixotically invited the enemy commander to dinner.
Chapter III discusses a remarkable excavation project undertaken by Alcubierre, a Spanish engineer in the King of Sicily's employ, which resulted in the discovery of an underground Roman city near the quarry at Herculaneum, close to Charles' recently chosen place of residence in the palace of Portici. Charles had been forewarned that Portici lay uncomfortably close to the then-active Mount Vesuvius, but was unperturbed by this development and trusted in God to ensure his safety. The subterranean ruins were located 50-60 feet underneath the village of Resina, and contained many precious artifacts, including broken statues that were restored by Canart, an eighteenth-century sculptor.
"Charles watched his collection grow by leaps and bounds, and housed it in a wing of his palace at Portici, where he spent many a delightful hour with the Queen and his learned curator, Marchese Venuti. A small band of sculptors, painters, engravers and scholars were employed to copy, restore and describe these amazing discoveries. But special permission was required to visit the underground ruins, which were not open to the general public. The privileged had to creep through holes from house to house with torches to light up the gloom."
Under the supervision of Charles VII and his prime minister Bernardo Tanucci, in 1755 the Royal Herculanean Academy was established, a learned circle of fifteen Neapolitan scholars whose duties were to study and catalogue the sunken city's treasures while providing their appropriate historical context. The society assigned the historian Ottavio Baiardi to compile what became the eight-volume Antiquities of Herculaneum, a highly sought-after compendium of descriptions and engravings for over 2,000 priceless Hellenistic artifacts. Many of Charles' contemporary rulers simply thought Herculaneum was a hoax, and the folio was only given to selected recipients in an effort to establish the authenticity of the pieces and generate interest in the King of Naples and Sicily's rare collection.
The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) reads a fair amount easier than does Acton's other masterpiece, The Last Medici. It was originally published in 1954, decades later in his career, so perhaps the author hoped to reach a wider, more accessible audience when compared with his other famous historical work. He uses fewer antiquated forms and expressions, and the sentence structure is less complicated and formal. Which is not to say that it does not possess its own fair share of eloquent, artistic prose. Readers can expect to encounter florid excerpts from contemporary eye-witnesses to the events described throughout this grandiose history of the Bourbons in Italy.
This is a monumental book of over 750 pages, and a major portion of Acton's chronicle is told in a functional-yet-stylish vernacular well-suited to the main text's lengthy content, in the reviewer's own humble layman's opinion. The narrative's superior quality and the monolithic amount of documentation, references and contemporary accounts truly place this title in a category all its own. The impressive bibliography includes the autobiography of Wolfgang Goethe, the observations of Sir William Hamilton, and the letters of Bernardo Tanucci - all key individuals who participated in or were eye-witnesses to many of the colorful events discussed by Acton.
In 1750 Charles VII commissioned the famous architect Luigi Vanvitelli to design the monolithic palace at Caserta, the plans for which were ready the following year, and the project was inaugurated by the king laying the first foundation stone on January 20, 1752, along with some inscribed gold medals displaying the motto, Deliciae Regis, Felicitas Populi. The palace's construction up to the stage where it became inhabitable took decades; it was not ready to receive the royal Neapolitan family until 1789, and as Charles abdicated the throne of Naples in 1759 to become Charles III of Spain, he never spent a single night in the breathtaking reggia he had commissioned. Acton's own descriptions as well as the contemporary accounts of the palace practically defy the imagination in their scale and scope; it is a true architectural masterpiece. The Reggia di Caserta was not officially completed until 1845.
"'The two principal fronts are seven hundred and eighty-seven feet in length, and contain five stories of thirty-seven windows each. The two other sides are six hundred and sixteen feet long, and consist also of five stories, in each of which are twenty-seven windows. The interior is divided into four courts, and in the center of the palace is a superb staircase, crowned by a circular hall which affords a communication to every set of apartments. The richest marbles are displayed with profusion, most of them dug out of quarries within the realm.'"
Upon the death of his half-brother King Ferdinand VI the Just in 1759, Charles VII relinquished the Crown of Naples and Sicily to become Charles III, the next King of Spain, leaving his Italian kingdom to his eight-year-old son Ferdinand I, who ruled with the assistance of a regency led by Naples' prime minister, Bernardo Tanucci. Tanucci was impervious to bribery or corruption of any kind and completely dedicated to the Bourbons, and having been a trusted advisor throughout much of his reign, he was an individual with whom Charles was comfortable in delegating the supervision of Ferdinand's education. The prime minister was tireless in his administration of the government, working very long hours and performing many of the tasks on his own, and as such he became an inseparable element of the Neapolitan bureaucracy.
The commencement in 1764 of Sir William Hamilton's 36-year ambassadorship to the Kingdom of Naples as King Ferdinand I's Envoy Extraordinary signaled a high-water mark for affluent British tourists and travelers who sought leisure and enlightenment in the prosperous and affluent city of Naples. A practiced entertainer and dilettante, Hamilton's most striking qualities were his handsome appearance and his admirable intellect, and he had been schooled in many different areas such as classical Roman antiquities, science, letter-writing and sportsmanship.
Sir William was a close companion of King Ferdinand, and would accompany the monarch on hunting and fishing expeditions throughout his reign. Sir Nathaniel Wraxall spoke highly of Hamilton's great favor at the Neapolitan court, in his memoirs. "'..With these qualifications, it cannot excite wonder that he formed the delight and ornament of the Court of Naples. No foreign minister, not even the family ambassadors of France and Spain resident there, enjoyed in so eminent a degree the favour or affection of His Sicilian Majesty.'" Hamilton also followed with avid interest any scientific or archaeological developments made in the areas surrounding Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, and in 1776 he published a compilation of his letters concerning the topic of volcanoes, entitled Campi Phlegraei.
Sarah Goudar was originally an Irish serving woman who, by a chance encounter, met the the popular Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova while working in a London tavern. Casanova took a liking to Sarah, and introduced her to his friend, the French socialite Ange Goudar, who eventually married her and helped her to become the prominent hostess and entertainer of a mansion in Naples' opulent Posillipo quarter, a popular gathering place for aristocrats and debutantes. The couple would stage extravagant social gatherings where they would, with the help of their old friend Casanova, attract wealthy tourists who would lodge at Giacomo's inn and spend recklessly at the Goudars' casino. According to Acton, Sarah became Casanova's feminine counterpart, with her husband composing elegant gossip-column-style literature for her to publish in a local newspaper which added to the pair's reputation and generated excitement.
The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) reads in similar fashion to a brightly narrated collection of anecdotes that slowly traces through the decades in Naples' history, making pleasant tangential digressions and limning secondary scenarios which add to this inimitable chronicle's character. It is a brilliantly written, immensely fascinating account that encompasses so much material, it is a wonder the author didn't give up on his monolithic project halfway through its composition. This book is a testament to Sir Harold Acton's almost-superhuman organizational skills and his remarkable attention to detail; there are so many historical figures, anecdotes, and literary works that have been captured within its pages, lending it the feel of an annalistic history, with so much more besides.
Sir John Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was a decorated naval and military officer who served in the Tuscan and Royal Neapolitan navies, and from 16 July 1779 he also held the position of Prime Minister under King Ferdinand I of Naples through turbulent times, which included Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Italy from 1796-7. Born in 1736 in Besançon, France, John Acton was not a direct ancestor of this book's author Harold Acton, who was despite claims to the contrary actually related to John's brother, General Joseph Edward Acton. On the Tuscan Grand Duke's recommendation, John Acton entered Neapolitan service and in January 1779 he undertook a drastic rearmament of Naples' navy, whose numbers were at that time behind those of neighboring powers, eventually building up its strength to an impressive 150 ships and founding four separate naval academies.
Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's return to Naples following his pivotal victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile, which lasted from 1-3 August 1798, was cause for a major celebration by the Neapolitans and the Royal Family of Naples by the time the news reached them on 3 September. The British and their powerful Royal Navy were the Bourbons' invaluable allies during the Italian campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Acton references the memoirs of Miss Cornelia Knight, an English lady and eventual governess for the Princess of Wales who was staying in Naples at the time, as she candidly wrote of the first ships' arrival bearing news of the English victory.
"I ran to the door, and the servant who opened it, and to whom I delivered my message, uttered exclamations of joy which were heard in the dining-room, where the General was entertaining a large party of officers. The secretary was instantly sent to me, and I was obliged to tell my story. Never shall I forget the shouts, the bursts of applause, the toasts drunk, the glasses broken one after another by the secretary in token of exultation, till the General, laughing heartily, stopped him by saying that he should not have a glass left to drink Nelson's health upon his arrival."
The fleeting Parthenopean Republic, so named for the ancient Greek settlement Parthenope upon which part of Naples is built, was a brief republican government established during the Napoleonic Wars that lasted from 21 January to 13 June 1799, and came about due to the power vacuum created when the Royal Family of Naples suddenly vacated their capital to escape the impending French invasion. The previous year King Ferdinand and his 70,000-strong Neapolitan army commanded by Karl Mack had attempted to liberate Rome from French occupation and sustained tremendous losses from the French counterattack, and as a result had fled back to Naples. Instead of making arrangements to defend the city, the Bourbons and their court had left for Palermo, Sicily, abandoning the citizens of the capital to the forces of the French General Jean-Étienne Vachier Championnet.
Shortly after the Parthenopean Republic's formation, on 25 January 1799 King Ferdinand I issued an edict which awarded the status of Royal Vicar to Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, to whom he delegated the task of crossing over to the mainland and raising an army with which to reconquer the portions of Calabria that had succumbed to the revolution. The cardinal set sail from Palermo, Sicily and on 7 February he landed at Punta del Pezzo with a small circle of confederates, supplies, and a banner displaying the famous motto borne by Constantine the Great, In hoc signo vinces.
Cardinal Ruffo managed to take the Calabrian fortresses of Cantanzaro and Cotrone before a good portion of his army, rich with plunder, deserted him after the successful siege of Cotrone, but he was reinforced by the clergy, who brought his forces up to 5,000 troops and 10,000 irregulars, and also dispatched his brother Don Francesco Ruffo to serve as Inspector of the army. Other portions of Italy under French control in the Cliento, the Abruzzi, Aquila, Teramo and Sora were retaken by groups of royalist insurgents at the time of Ruffo's crusade, and Acton also limns several anecdotes that chronicle deeds of both royalist and republican patriotism later in the chapter. In a series of dramatic episodes occurring further into the book, Ruffo at last retakes Naples in the king's name and with the aid of Admiral Nelson's Royal Navy fleet, he ultimately secures the republican army's unconditional surrender.
The Austrian chancellor Prince Metternich appears late in Acton's chronicle, while the kingdom was enduring the Carbonari revolt which had been staged under the leadership of the revolutionary Guglielmo Pepe, a disenchanted Italian officer who had achieved distinction fighting under Naples' former, ill-starred autocratic ruler Joachim Murat. Metternich facilitated the loan to King Ferdinand of a well-equipped Austrian army that the Bourbons used to suppress this new revolution, which had begun in 1820. The conflict between the royalists and rebels culminated in the anticlimactic Battle of Antrodoco, fought in 1521 between Pepe's 10,000 Neapolitan soldiers and General Johann Frimont's Austrian force of 14,500, and ending in a decisive victory for Austria and the Bourbons. Their triumph proved to be short lived, however, as the seventy-one-year-old King Ferdinand I passed away a mere four years later, on January 3, 1825, and was succeeded by his son, who became Francis I, and briefly ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1825-1830.
Overall, Harold Acton's The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) is an unforgettable, critically acclaimed masterpiece which hardly needs the reviewer's own opinion to be considered a classic in the history genre. It is an engaging combination of traditional historical narrative merged with a thought-provoking series of contemporary accounts that provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the Royal Neapolitan Family and important members of their inner circle and administration, particularly the Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Carolina of Austria, who kept prodigious correspondence with her many friends and relations. Thank you so very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the review!
In the prologue to Part I of Harold Acton's epic, dual-volume chronicle of the Bourbons of Naples, the author introduces his audience to the splendor and magnificence of the region's capital city, emphasizing Naples' classical Greek heritage and briefly outlining its history first under the Angevins of France from 1266-1442, and then the Aragonese House of Trastámara from 1442-1501. After a short return to French suzerainty from 1501-4, Naples was reconquered in 1504 by Ferdinand II of Aragon, and it was via the marriage between his daughter Joanna III and Archduke Philip the Handsome that their child, who became Charles V Habsburg, came to inherit the city and region in 1516, due to Philip's early death and Joanna's fragile mental state which made it difficult for her to participate in diplomatic affairs.
The unique circumstances that had brought about Charles VII's reign over Naples and Sicily were complicated to say the least. Charles' suzerainty on the Italian Peninsula began with his inheritance of the Romagnol cities of Parma and Piacenza upon the death in 1731 of his maternal great-uncle Antonio Farnese. Naples at that time was under Austrian rule, making it a subject state of the Holy Roman Empire, and by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht which had ended the War of the Spanish Succession, Imperial Austria and Bourbon Spain were technically at peace.
However, the Pacte de Famille, also known as the Bourbon Compact of 1733, allowed the Bourbon-ruled countries of France and Spain to assist one another in certain military scenarios, and the treaty's other terms also stipulated Spanish rights over Naples and Sicily, which were at that time both under Austrian dominion. This led to the Spanish invasion of Naples in 1734, an operation which was placed in the charge of the eighteen-year-old Charles, who was at the time not thought likely to become the Crown Prince, and as a non-inheriting male child of the royal family was still considered an Infante of Spain.
This U.K. trade paperback edition of Harold Acton's The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) is published by Faber Finds, an imprint of Faber and Faber Ltd. that specializes in out-of-print books and is a constantly evolving project organized by writers, editors and readers which seeks to return to print many of these beloved books from yesteryear. The 730-page main text is divided into 36 chapters, each featuring a descriptive title summarizing the events discussed therein. There are also acknowledgments and a 10-page prologue introducing the reader to the rich history of the Naples region, as well as an 8-page bibliography and index at the back of the volume.
In Chapter I - Elizabeth Farnese's ambitions for her elder son Don Carlos - His departure for Italy, 1731 - His arrival in Tuscany and Parma - Spain declares war on Austria, 1733 - The Spanish invasion of Naples, 1734 - Don Carlos enters his new capital, May 10 - Conquest of Sicily - Coronation of King Charles in Palermo - His festive return to Naples, Acton provides a colorful, eloquent description of Charles' Siege of Castel Nuovo, which transpired during the Spanish conquest of Naples, and alongside those of the Neapolitan fortresses of Castello del Carmine, Castel Sant' Elmo and Castel dell' Ovo, was undertaken in a manner that was considered chivalrous during the Age of Enlightenment in which it occurred. In the wake of the Austrian garrison's surrender after the Castel Sant' Elmo's five-day investment, the natural-born French officer in charge of the operation, Count de Charney, quixotically invited the enemy commander to dinner.
Chapter III discusses a remarkable excavation project undertaken by Alcubierre, a Spanish engineer in the King of Sicily's employ, which resulted in the discovery of an underground Roman city near the quarry at Herculaneum, close to Charles' recently chosen place of residence in the palace of Portici. Charles had been forewarned that Portici lay uncomfortably close to the then-active Mount Vesuvius, but was unperturbed by this development and trusted in God to ensure his safety. The subterranean ruins were located 50-60 feet underneath the village of Resina, and contained many precious artifacts, including broken statues that were restored by Canart, an eighteenth-century sculptor.
"Charles watched his collection grow by leaps and bounds, and housed it in a wing of his palace at Portici, where he spent many a delightful hour with the Queen and his learned curator, Marchese Venuti. A small band of sculptors, painters, engravers and scholars were employed to copy, restore and describe these amazing discoveries. But special permission was required to visit the underground ruins, which were not open to the general public. The privileged had to creep through holes from house to house with torches to light up the gloom."
Under the supervision of Charles VII and his prime minister Bernardo Tanucci, in 1755 the Royal Herculanean Academy was established, a learned circle of fifteen Neapolitan scholars whose duties were to study and catalogue the sunken city's treasures while providing their appropriate historical context. The society assigned the historian Ottavio Baiardi to compile what became the eight-volume Antiquities of Herculaneum, a highly sought-after compendium of descriptions and engravings for over 2,000 priceless Hellenistic artifacts. Many of Charles' contemporary rulers simply thought Herculaneum was a hoax, and the folio was only given to selected recipients in an effort to establish the authenticity of the pieces and generate interest in the King of Naples and Sicily's rare collection.
The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) reads a fair amount easier than does Acton's other masterpiece, The Last Medici. It was originally published in 1954, decades later in his career, so perhaps the author hoped to reach a wider, more accessible audience when compared with his other famous historical work. He uses fewer antiquated forms and expressions, and the sentence structure is less complicated and formal. Which is not to say that it does not possess its own fair share of eloquent, artistic prose. Readers can expect to encounter florid excerpts from contemporary eye-witnesses to the events described throughout this grandiose history of the Bourbons in Italy.
This is a monumental book of over 750 pages, and a major portion of Acton's chronicle is told in a functional-yet-stylish vernacular well-suited to the main text's lengthy content, in the reviewer's own humble layman's opinion. The narrative's superior quality and the monolithic amount of documentation, references and contemporary accounts truly place this title in a category all its own. The impressive bibliography includes the autobiography of Wolfgang Goethe, the observations of Sir William Hamilton, and the letters of Bernardo Tanucci - all key individuals who participated in or were eye-witnesses to many of the colorful events discussed by Acton.
In 1750 Charles VII commissioned the famous architect Luigi Vanvitelli to design the monolithic palace at Caserta, the plans for which were ready the following year, and the project was inaugurated by the king laying the first foundation stone on January 20, 1752, along with some inscribed gold medals displaying the motto, Deliciae Regis, Felicitas Populi. The palace's construction up to the stage where it became inhabitable took decades; it was not ready to receive the royal Neapolitan family until 1789, and as Charles abdicated the throne of Naples in 1759 to become Charles III of Spain, he never spent a single night in the breathtaking reggia he had commissioned. Acton's own descriptions as well as the contemporary accounts of the palace practically defy the imagination in their scale and scope; it is a true architectural masterpiece. The Reggia di Caserta was not officially completed until 1845.
"'The two principal fronts are seven hundred and eighty-seven feet in length, and contain five stories of thirty-seven windows each. The two other sides are six hundred and sixteen feet long, and consist also of five stories, in each of which are twenty-seven windows. The interior is divided into four courts, and in the center of the palace is a superb staircase, crowned by a circular hall which affords a communication to every set of apartments. The richest marbles are displayed with profusion, most of them dug out of quarries within the realm.'"
Upon the death of his half-brother King Ferdinand VI the Just in 1759, Charles VII relinquished the Crown of Naples and Sicily to become Charles III, the next King of Spain, leaving his Italian kingdom to his eight-year-old son Ferdinand I, who ruled with the assistance of a regency led by Naples' prime minister, Bernardo Tanucci. Tanucci was impervious to bribery or corruption of any kind and completely dedicated to the Bourbons, and having been a trusted advisor throughout much of his reign, he was an individual with whom Charles was comfortable in delegating the supervision of Ferdinand's education. The prime minister was tireless in his administration of the government, working very long hours and performing many of the tasks on his own, and as such he became an inseparable element of the Neapolitan bureaucracy.
The commencement in 1764 of Sir William Hamilton's 36-year ambassadorship to the Kingdom of Naples as King Ferdinand I's Envoy Extraordinary signaled a high-water mark for affluent British tourists and travelers who sought leisure and enlightenment in the prosperous and affluent city of Naples. A practiced entertainer and dilettante, Hamilton's most striking qualities were his handsome appearance and his admirable intellect, and he had been schooled in many different areas such as classical Roman antiquities, science, letter-writing and sportsmanship.
Sir William was a close companion of King Ferdinand, and would accompany the monarch on hunting and fishing expeditions throughout his reign. Sir Nathaniel Wraxall spoke highly of Hamilton's great favor at the Neapolitan court, in his memoirs. "'..With these qualifications, it cannot excite wonder that he formed the delight and ornament of the Court of Naples. No foreign minister, not even the family ambassadors of France and Spain resident there, enjoyed in so eminent a degree the favour or affection of His Sicilian Majesty.'" Hamilton also followed with avid interest any scientific or archaeological developments made in the areas surrounding Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, and in 1776 he published a compilation of his letters concerning the topic of volcanoes, entitled Campi Phlegraei.
Sarah Goudar was originally an Irish serving woman who, by a chance encounter, met the the popular Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova while working in a London tavern. Casanova took a liking to Sarah, and introduced her to his friend, the French socialite Ange Goudar, who eventually married her and helped her to become the prominent hostess and entertainer of a mansion in Naples' opulent Posillipo quarter, a popular gathering place for aristocrats and debutantes. The couple would stage extravagant social gatherings where they would, with the help of their old friend Casanova, attract wealthy tourists who would lodge at Giacomo's inn and spend recklessly at the Goudars' casino. According to Acton, Sarah became Casanova's feminine counterpart, with her husband composing elegant gossip-column-style literature for her to publish in a local newspaper which added to the pair's reputation and generated excitement.
The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) reads in similar fashion to a brightly narrated collection of anecdotes that slowly traces through the decades in Naples' history, making pleasant tangential digressions and limning secondary scenarios which add to this inimitable chronicle's character. It is a brilliantly written, immensely fascinating account that encompasses so much material, it is a wonder the author didn't give up on his monolithic project halfway through its composition. This book is a testament to Sir Harold Acton's almost-superhuman organizational skills and his remarkable attention to detail; there are so many historical figures, anecdotes, and literary works that have been captured within its pages, lending it the feel of an annalistic history, with so much more besides.
Sir John Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was a decorated naval and military officer who served in the Tuscan and Royal Neapolitan navies, and from 16 July 1779 he also held the position of Prime Minister under King Ferdinand I of Naples through turbulent times, which included Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Italy from 1796-7. Born in 1736 in Besançon, France, John Acton was not a direct ancestor of this book's author Harold Acton, who was despite claims to the contrary actually related to John's brother, General Joseph Edward Acton. On the Tuscan Grand Duke's recommendation, John Acton entered Neapolitan service and in January 1779 he undertook a drastic rearmament of Naples' navy, whose numbers were at that time behind those of neighboring powers, eventually building up its strength to an impressive 150 ships and founding four separate naval academies.
Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's return to Naples following his pivotal victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile, which lasted from 1-3 August 1798, was cause for a major celebration by the Neapolitans and the Royal Family of Naples by the time the news reached them on 3 September. The British and their powerful Royal Navy were the Bourbons' invaluable allies during the Italian campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Acton references the memoirs of Miss Cornelia Knight, an English lady and eventual governess for the Princess of Wales who was staying in Naples at the time, as she candidly wrote of the first ships' arrival bearing news of the English victory.
"I ran to the door, and the servant who opened it, and to whom I delivered my message, uttered exclamations of joy which were heard in the dining-room, where the General was entertaining a large party of officers. The secretary was instantly sent to me, and I was obliged to tell my story. Never shall I forget the shouts, the bursts of applause, the toasts drunk, the glasses broken one after another by the secretary in token of exultation, till the General, laughing heartily, stopped him by saying that he should not have a glass left to drink Nelson's health upon his arrival."
The fleeting Parthenopean Republic, so named for the ancient Greek settlement Parthenope upon which part of Naples is built, was a brief republican government established during the Napoleonic Wars that lasted from 21 January to 13 June 1799, and came about due to the power vacuum created when the Royal Family of Naples suddenly vacated their capital to escape the impending French invasion. The previous year King Ferdinand and his 70,000-strong Neapolitan army commanded by Karl Mack had attempted to liberate Rome from French occupation and sustained tremendous losses from the French counterattack, and as a result had fled back to Naples. Instead of making arrangements to defend the city, the Bourbons and their court had left for Palermo, Sicily, abandoning the citizens of the capital to the forces of the French General Jean-Étienne Vachier Championnet.
Shortly after the Parthenopean Republic's formation, on 25 January 1799 King Ferdinand I issued an edict which awarded the status of Royal Vicar to Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, to whom he delegated the task of crossing over to the mainland and raising an army with which to reconquer the portions of Calabria that had succumbed to the revolution. The cardinal set sail from Palermo, Sicily and on 7 February he landed at Punta del Pezzo with a small circle of confederates, supplies, and a banner displaying the famous motto borne by Constantine the Great, In hoc signo vinces.
Cardinal Ruffo managed to take the Calabrian fortresses of Cantanzaro and Cotrone before a good portion of his army, rich with plunder, deserted him after the successful siege of Cotrone, but he was reinforced by the clergy, who brought his forces up to 5,000 troops and 10,000 irregulars, and also dispatched his brother Don Francesco Ruffo to serve as Inspector of the army. Other portions of Italy under French control in the Cliento, the Abruzzi, Aquila, Teramo and Sora were retaken by groups of royalist insurgents at the time of Ruffo's crusade, and Acton also limns several anecdotes that chronicle deeds of both royalist and republican patriotism later in the chapter. In a series of dramatic episodes occurring further into the book, Ruffo at last retakes Naples in the king's name and with the aid of Admiral Nelson's Royal Navy fleet, he ultimately secures the republican army's unconditional surrender.
The Austrian chancellor Prince Metternich appears late in Acton's chronicle, while the kingdom was enduring the Carbonari revolt which had been staged under the leadership of the revolutionary Guglielmo Pepe, a disenchanted Italian officer who had achieved distinction fighting under Naples' former, ill-starred autocratic ruler Joachim Murat. Metternich facilitated the loan to King Ferdinand of a well-equipped Austrian army that the Bourbons used to suppress this new revolution, which had begun in 1820. The conflict between the royalists and rebels culminated in the anticlimactic Battle of Antrodoco, fought in 1521 between Pepe's 10,000 Neapolitan soldiers and General Johann Frimont's Austrian force of 14,500, and ending in a decisive victory for Austria and the Bourbons. Their triumph proved to be short lived, however, as the seventy-one-year-old King Ferdinand I passed away a mere four years later, on January 3, 1825, and was succeeded by his son, who became Francis I, and briefly ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1825-1830.
Overall, Harold Acton's The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825) is an unforgettable, critically acclaimed masterpiece which hardly needs the reviewer's own opinion to be considered a classic in the history genre. It is an engaging combination of traditional historical narrative merged with a thought-provoking series of contemporary accounts that provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the Royal Neapolitan Family and important members of their inner circle and administration, particularly the Queen of Naples and Sicily, Maria Carolina of Austria, who kept prodigious correspondence with her many friends and relations. Thank you so very much for reading, I hope that you enjoyed the review!
July 30, 2008
I wish this book was back in print. However, it was worth the $100, and reading something rare seems more pleasurable (an involuntary justification of the expenditure, probably). Being in Naples now, I see that the Bourbons shaped the city as we know it, and all previous local history now appears framed by the events and achievements of this era. Reading about the earliest excavations of Herculaneum and the politics connected to it provided the best perspective on the place just before visiting. Anyway, this is the kind of history I love... Didn't someone say "if you didn't live in the 18th century, you didn't live"? Or was that the 17th?
January 31, 2008
Caution - for the dedicated historian. The title tells you what this contains and the detail is phenomenal. Lord Acton was one of the greatest historians writing in the twentieth century and his research for this volume, which runs somewhere around 800 pages was incredible. I enjoyed it immensely and if history is of interest then this book's for you.
October 11, 2022
This is an important account that should’ve been subtitled “The Life and Times of Maria Carolina.” Too much ink devoted to her correspondence and not enough on the origins and progeny of the Bourbons. Finally the author doesn’t reveal if he’s a descendant of one of the protagonists of the same name.
December 11, 2017
"On the 20th [of December, 1798] another large mob gathered before the palace, shouting for arms to defend the King and themselves, and for permission to kill the Jacobins and the French. The spectacle of such mass excitement was far from reassuring to the Royal Family, who began to regard their palace as a prison. Next morning the Royal Messenger Ferreri was mistaken for a French spy and dragged under the King's balcony where he was butchered by the mob, howling "Death to the Jacobin!" The King was horrified to recognize this innocent victim, whose bleeding corpse was held up to him as a proof of his people's loyalty. Republican writers allege that the Queen and Acton had instigated this atrocity, first to get rid of an accomplice who might betray secrets, and secondly to persuade the King to leave. This is mere party journalism, but the incident would have unnerved a braver man than Ferdinand."
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