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The Emperor's Shadow: Bonaparte, Betsy and the Balcombes of St Helena
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 6, 2019
I found this a bit disappointing. The author has done a lot of research and has unearthed a great deal of information, but despite the large number of scholarly references it is poor history, and sometimes reads a bit like a historical novel without any real sense of period or place. The book also contains some descriptions of the author's own journey to St. Helena which seem totally out of place.
In the first few pages I was put off by the author's description though the eyes of Betsy Balcombe of Napoleon's arrival on the wharf at Jamestown: a much embroidered account derived from Betsy's own book. I also noticed early on some factual errors about slavery - the 1200 slaves on St Helena were not owned by the East India Company, neither was St. Helena the last place in the British Empire in which slavery existed. The author implies that slavery existed on the island despite Parliament's abolition of the slave trade. In fact the ban on the importation of slaves into St Helena preceded the Empire wide ban by a number of years.
A pity I feel since she has done so much useful research, although I appreciate that some may find it a good read, and may like the approach she takes.
In the first few pages I was put off by the author's description though the eyes of Betsy Balcombe of Napoleon's arrival on the wharf at Jamestown: a much embroidered account derived from Betsy's own book. I also noticed early on some factual errors about slavery - the 1200 slaves on St Helena were not owned by the East India Company, neither was St. Helena the last place in the British Empire in which slavery existed. The author implies that slavery existed on the island despite Parliament's abolition of the slave trade. In fact the ban on the importation of slaves into St Helena preceded the Empire wide ban by a number of years.
A pity I feel since she has done so much useful research, although I appreciate that some may find it a good read, and may like the approach she takes.
July 16, 2020
This is an incredibly promising deep dive into Napoleon's exile on St. Helena which sadly is let down by several factors. The author is at her best narrating events on the island, the images of Betsy Balcombe threatening Napoleon with his own sword or the former Emperor jumping into a thorn bush to escape sight-seers jump off the page and into memory.
However once the action moves away from Napoleon and St Helena the narrative stumbles. It loses pace and becomes derivative, discussing George IV's marriage in depth among other things which just detract from the story. There is also a great deal of assumption, we're told Betsy "would have felt" or "would have done" where in actuality, we do not know this. It's guesswork at best and this detracts massively from the story told.
I've given this just two stars as I desperately wanted this book to live up to the promise of the first 200 pages. This could be a really excellent book, which is probably the most disappointing thing about it.
However once the action moves away from Napoleon and St Helena the narrative stumbles. It loses pace and becomes derivative, discussing George IV's marriage in depth among other things which just detract from the story. There is also a great deal of assumption, we're told Betsy "would have felt" or "would have done" where in actuality, we do not know this. It's guesswork at best and this detracts massively from the story told.
I've given this just two stars as I desperately wanted this book to live up to the promise of the first 200 pages. This could be a really excellent book, which is probably the most disappointing thing about it.
June 11, 2022
Informative, but the way the story was told was a bit boring and repetitive. Some of the events were described multiple times in different chapters (not even from different perspectives) and other bits of information seemed to be inserted in the story in a way that didn't fit the narrative. It took me a long time to finish reading it and I'm sure I've already forgotten more than half of it.
May 29, 2021
So much promise that just wasn’t realised.
May 26, 2022
A tad disappointing. A look at the Balcombe family and their friendship with Napoleon while he was in exile on St Helena.
January 30, 2016
The Emperor's Shadow by Anne Whitehead
The story of Betsy Balcombe, set on the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, in England and then nineteenth century New South Wales represents an impressive depth of social and historical research by the author. Employing a formula of weaving the near past into the narrative, and reading the thoughts and aspirations of the real characters around whom “The Emperor’s Shadow” centres, gives Anne Whitehead’s story a context in the present.
Napoleon’s banishment to St Helena after his defeat at Waterloo is well documented elsewhere, but little before this book was published was widely known about young Betsy Balcombe and her rogue of a father, a man “…who looked in every set back for an opportunity and usually succeeded in finding one”. A prevailing belief among the liberal establishment in London at the time was that Napoleon had been sorely mistreated by his exile to a remote speck in the South Atlantic Ocean and that the island’s Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, was a hard-nosed martinet. That the former Emperor’s early days on St Helena were far from a rigorous imprisonment and enlivened by a young and insubordinate adolescent, who had believed the fearsome stories about the ogre Napoleon before he escaped from Elba, is clearly drawn; as are the lengths to which Betsy went to capitalise on her relationship throughout her later life, despite having lived on St Helena for only two and a half years during Napoleon’s sojourn there.
Anne Whitehead’s text discloses how Napoleon’s entourage evidently missed Betsy’s father once the family had left St Helena in 1818: perhaps not only for the provisions he had supplied but also for sight of the Government papers that passed through his hands? However, once back in London Balcombe was faced with his malfeasance as the East India Company’s purveyor on St Helena and never returned. “The Emperor’s Shadow” records how Betsy’s life changed significantly once more. She accompanied her parents when, through patronage, her rogue of a father was later appointed as Colonial Treasurer in New South Wales. The life and times of nineteenth century Australia form an eminently suitable conclusion to an intriguing story.
Painstakingly researched and revealingly documented “The Emperor’s Shadow” covers a wide sweep of colonial history, introducing some of the major players of the time. It is a fascinating tale, well told.
The story of Betsy Balcombe, set on the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, in England and then nineteenth century New South Wales represents an impressive depth of social and historical research by the author. Employing a formula of weaving the near past into the narrative, and reading the thoughts and aspirations of the real characters around whom “The Emperor’s Shadow” centres, gives Anne Whitehead’s story a context in the present.
Napoleon’s banishment to St Helena after his defeat at Waterloo is well documented elsewhere, but little before this book was published was widely known about young Betsy Balcombe and her rogue of a father, a man “…who looked in every set back for an opportunity and usually succeeded in finding one”. A prevailing belief among the liberal establishment in London at the time was that Napoleon had been sorely mistreated by his exile to a remote speck in the South Atlantic Ocean and that the island’s Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, was a hard-nosed martinet. That the former Emperor’s early days on St Helena were far from a rigorous imprisonment and enlivened by a young and insubordinate adolescent, who had believed the fearsome stories about the ogre Napoleon before he escaped from Elba, is clearly drawn; as are the lengths to which Betsy went to capitalise on her relationship throughout her later life, despite having lived on St Helena for only two and a half years during Napoleon’s sojourn there.
Anne Whitehead’s text discloses how Napoleon’s entourage evidently missed Betsy’s father once the family had left St Helena in 1818: perhaps not only for the provisions he had supplied but also for sight of the Government papers that passed through his hands? However, once back in London Balcombe was faced with his malfeasance as the East India Company’s purveyor on St Helena and never returned. “The Emperor’s Shadow” records how Betsy’s life changed significantly once more. She accompanied her parents when, through patronage, her rogue of a father was later appointed as Colonial Treasurer in New South Wales. The life and times of nineteenth century Australia form an eminently suitable conclusion to an intriguing story.
Painstakingly researched and revealingly documented “The Emperor’s Shadow” covers a wide sweep of colonial history, introducing some of the major players of the time. It is a fascinating tale, well told.
November 2, 2018
The Emperor's Shadow is three books in one: the story of Napoleon Bonaparte's last years on the island of St. Helena, a biography of his friend and neighbour Betsy Balcombe, and a travelogue of the author following in the footsteps of Napoleon and Betsy and describing her impressions of the sites associated with them today. Betsy is an engaging figure who resembles Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice with her high spirits, irreverence, and hasty marriage to a fortune hunting military officer in scandalous circumstances. There are times when Betsy's own experiences and impressions become overwhelmed by the wider narrative of historical events described in the book from the fall of Napoleon I to the rise of Napoleon III (who visted Betsy to hear her impressions of his famous uncle). The Emperor's Shadow is always engaging, however, and demonstrates how members of Napoleon's social circle became celebrities in their own right.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews