Introduction
It's that time of year again: holidays are booked, bags are packed, and all that's left is something to keep you occupied during your time off. Well, look no further, for we here at the Fondation Napoléon have put together our 2010 Summer Selection, which not only includes some of the latest literature on Napoleonic history, but also digital resources and content, exhibition recommendations and history-themed walks and tours, enough to last you through the next few months of whatever you have planned.
Military history
1809: Thunder on the Danube: Napoleon's Defeat of the Habsburgs Vol. III Wagram and Znaim, by John H. Gill
In this third volume, John H. Gill brings to a close his magisterial study of the 1809 war between Napoleonic France and Habsburg Austria. This final volume begins with the principal armies of both antagonists recuperating on the Danube's banks, takes in the subsidiary campaigns led by Eugene de Beauharnais, Prince Poniatowski and Marmont, and finishes with the titanic Battle of Wagram and the under-appreciated Battle of Znaim. Gill makes use of an impressive array of sources to present a lively account that covers the conflict from the diplomacy of emperors to the common soldiers suffering the privations of campaigning and the horrors of battle as they attempt to carry out their duties.
Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814, by Dominic Lieven
Using an array of new, rare and surprising sources, Dominic Lieven tells the story of one of the most astonishing dramas in Europe's history. In the summer of 1812 after years of uneasy peace, Napoleon, the master of almost the whole continent, marched into Russia with the largest army ever assembled, confident that he would sweep everything before him. Less than two years later the Russian army was itself marching into Paris and Napoleon's empire lay in ruins.
General history
Napoleon's Other War: Bandits, Rebels and their Pursuers in the Age of Revolutions, by Michael Broers
The wars of Napoleon are among the best-known and most exciting episodes in world history. Less known is the uproar the armies stirred up in their path, and even more, the chaos they left in their wake. The 'knock-on effect' of Napoleon's sweep across Europe went further than is often remembered: his invasion of Spain triggered the collapse of the Spanish Empire in Latin America, and his meddling in the Balkans destabilised the Ottomans.
Nouvelle histoire du Premier Empire, volume IV: Les Cent-Jours (1815) (in French), by Thierry Lentz
The early successes during the Cent-Jours came precisely at the wrong time: society in France had changed profoundly, and the elites had changed with it. Even those who had profited from the Napoleonic adventure sided with the “reactionaries”. Thierry Lentz offers a grandiose vision (leaving nothing out in the process) of these fifteen exceptional years in French and European history.
Terrible Exile: The Last Days of Napoleon on St Helena, by Brian Unwin
At its height, the Napoleonic Empire spanned much of mainland Europe. Feted and feared by millions of citizens, Napoleon was the most powerful and famous man of his age. But following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo the future of the one-time Emperor of France and master of Europe seemed irredeemably bleak. How did the brilliant tactician cope with being at the mercy of his captors? How did he react to a life in exile on St Helena – and how did the other inhabitants of that isolated and impregnable island respond to his presence there?
Social history
Les Paysans de Napoléon: aspects de la vie quotidienne et des mentalités (in French) by Chantal Lheureux-Prévot
Eighty percent of the Napoleonic Empire was rural, and yet the history of this huge slice of the population is little known, overshadowed as it is by the great deeds and more famous battles of the period. Generally clumped together into a large non-descript mass of peasants and countryside, the rural history of the Empire proves in actual fact to be far more diverse and complex than initially believed. This book proposes to answer the question, “What was life like in the countryside under Napoleon?”. Using enlightening anecdotes and personal accounts, the joys, hardships, hopes and fears of our ancestors are laid out before us in detail.
Primary sources
On Wellington: A Critique of Waterloo, by Carl von Clausewitz
The Battle of Waterloo has been studied and dissected so extensively that one might assume little more on the subject could be discovered. Now historian Peter Hofschröer brings forward a long-repressed commentary written by Carl von Clausewitz, the author of On War. Clausewitz, the Western world's most renowned military theorist, participated in the Waterloo campaign as a senior staff officer in the Prussian army. His appraisal, offered here in an up-to-date and readable translation, criticised the Duke of Wellington's actions.
The Waterloo Archive Volume I: British Sources, by Gareth Glover
The Battle of Waterloo, a constant source of interest for scholars, enthusiasts and general readers alike for nearly 200 years, has been extensively covered in written works. However, most of these books are simply regurgitating other accounts of the battle, which in turn are a rehash of another work, and so it is rare to find new work based on genuine primary sources – until now. Gareth Glover has, after painstaking and meticulous research, published a new collection of primary sources from the time of the Waterloo campaign – most of which have never been seen before.
Light reading
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a fantasy/alternate history novel written by Susanna Clarke. Featuring two practising magicians, Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell, the story takes place during the Napoleonic wars, with volume I opening sometime around the end of 1806. The novel, the first full-length effort from British writer Susanna Clarke, reached number three on the New York Times bestseller list, was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize and won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Digital
Napoleonica. La Revue
Napoleonica. La Revue has recently transferred to the Cairn.info online journal directory, where you can now access all the articles and book reviews for free. All seven issues published since Napoleonica. La Revue's beginnings in 2008 are available in their entirety, and articles can be accessed online in HTML or downloaded in PDF format for perusal at your leisure. Why not take a look back over Thomas Munch-Petersen's “Count d'Antraigues and the British political elite, 1806-1812”, “The Napoleonic diplomatic corps”, by Yves Bruley or indeed “The 'pièce militaire et historique' for keyboard in the Napoleonic period: recounting a musical story”, by Peter Hicks, which comes from our latest issue of the review, a special edition on music during the Napoleonic period?
Digital Library
These upcoming months are the perfect time to catch up on the newest addition to napoleon.org's raft of online resources: the Digital Library. With a powerful zoom function, an full-text search engine, and high resolution images and text scans, the reader can really take the time to fully investigate some of the rarer and often unseen examples of Napoleonic literature. The library includes the diaries of Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher and John R. Glover, which detail the “last voyages” of Napoleon Bonaparte, on his way to St Helena; Captain F. L. Maitland's narrative of Napoleon's surrender to British troops and his residence on H.M.S. Bellerophon; and Hortense de Beauharnais' Romances.
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War is the latest incarnation of the well-known “Total War” strategy series. This time around, players can play through three new episodic campaigns, taking command of armies on land and sea over the Italy, Egypt and Mastery of Europe campaigns. The game features fully integrated multiplayer modes and a complete set of online functionalities, as well as “Steam” achievements, gameplay bonuses, uniform editor and voice communications.
Exhibitions
“Napoleon's Wedding”, Vienna, Austria
In early 1810, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of the French, married the Austrian archduchess Marie Louise. Romantic feelings played no part whatsoever in this union. The bridegroom had just separated from his beloved Josephine the year before since she could not provide him with children. He hoped that his marriage with the eighteen-year-old Hapsburg would bring him prestige and a son and heir. The bride had been brought up by her father, Emperor Francis, to hate Napoleon and to consider him her worst enemy. She undertook her wedding for state reasons and gave herself as sacrifice for the emperor and the fatherland. The exhibition tracks the background of this “marriage of enemies” and brings to life the spectacular event with exceptional items on display.
“Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840): a free man”, Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Lucien Bonaparte was still not even thirty when he left Paris in 1804 following his rift with the First Consul. He surely cannot have thought that his departure would be final, and that his political career, so brilliantly begun, would be over so soon. A new chapter in his life – the thirty-six years spent in Italy until his death in Viterbo – was to unfold in a far calmer manner, with his days spent in pursuit of more aesthetic pleasures, family enjoyment, reflective writing and erudition. The exhibition mirrors this duality and, just as with Lucien's life, is clearly divided into two parts: one which follows Lucien's childhood and youth in France, and the other which traces his later years in Italy.
“Rude Britannia: British Comic Art”, London, UK
Put together with some the country's best-known cartoonists and comedy writers, this exhibition explores British comic art from the 1600s to the present day. Bringing together a wide array of paintings, sculptures, film and photography, as well as graphic art and comic books, the exhibition celebrates a rich history of cartooning and visual jokes. The rooms exploring Politics, Social Satire and Cruikshank's Victorian masterpiece The Worship of Bacchus have been put together with Gerald Scarfe, Steve Bell, and the cartoonists from Viz. These show the power of comic art as a form of social and political commentary throughout history, from satires of Georgian society by Rowlandson and Gillray to Spitting Image's damning Thatcher puppet.
Walks
Jena-Auerstedt 14 October, 1806
Napoleon and Davout, “the World's Soul” and the “Iron Marshal”, came together on 14 October, 1806, for the crushing double-battle victory Jena-Auerstedt which annihilated the Prussian army. If you are on holiday around in the vicinity of Weimar, Apolda, Naumburg, Erfurt or Eisenberg, Germany, this summer, why not take a look at the sites where it all happened? Created in partnership with the Jena Tourist Board, napoleon.org has prepared three individual routes through the region, taking in the Battle of Jena, the Battle of Auerstedt, and the Napoleon Route.
Compiègne
Compiègne is a key monument for all First and Second Empire enthusiasts. Its remarkable setting in the heart of the Oise valley, on the edge of a vast forest renowned for its hunting, is the explaination as to why it held a special place in the hearts of all the kings of France. If you are on holiday this year in the Oise département, why not take a look at our Compiègne guide? The file includes details of the key sights and spots to visit, as well as practical information on the surrounding area, including hotels, restaurants and access.