After his surrender to the Royal Navy, Napoleon became the object of massive English public interest. He would live out his last years on the island of St. Helena without ever admitting to being a prisoner. This close study of Napoleon in captivity attempts to reconstruct an authentic portrait of the fallen emperor by examining contemporary documents and records of public opinion. Napoleon worked hard to obfuscate his history of tyranny with a legend elevating him as the architect of a federation of free European peoples, thwarted by reactionary monarchs and British envy. Many English citizens collaborated in this legend and joined in the condemnation of Napoleon's jailer and guardian, Sir Hudson Lowe. Frank Giles takes a fresh, balanced look at both Lowe and Napoleon, condemned to each other on an island for six years.
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"John Lee's narration as always was wonderful. This part of Napoleans life was sad and what torment life in exile must have been for one such as he...this really made that torment clear to me. A very fast audio book at just under 7 hours. It is good to have this side of Napolens life made clear." — Lady (4 out of 5 stars)
"John Lee's narration as always was wonderful. This part of Napoleans life was sad and what torment life in exile must have been for one such as he...this really made that torment clear to me. A very fast audio book at just under 7 hours. It is good to have this side of Napolens life made clear."
“[A] judicious and well-researched contribution to this debate.”
“Will spark controversy about Napoleon’s life and death on St. Helena.”
“Readers will find Giles’ descriptions of Napoleon in exile—no longer battling Wellington over countries, but battling Lowe over the protocols of dinner invitations and his right to be called emperor—are poignant and pathetic…Giles is a straightforward writer and a diligent researcher.”
“What emerges most clearly from Giles’ investigation is the fascinating variety of contradictory opinions about Napoleon…Recommended especially for academic libraries and public libraries with an interest in Napoleonic studies.”
“This is a lively, readable account, and its revisionist view rings true.”
" Interesting, an area I knew very little about. A bit tedious though. "
Frank Giles was editor of the Sunday Times (London) from 1981 to 1983 and is the author of The Locust Years: The Story of the Fourth French Republic, 1946–1958.
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.
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