In 1815, a few days before Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on St Helena, a fast sloop brought the governor news that the island had been chosen for the defeated emperor’s exile. The surprised authorities scrambled to find a secure residence for their illustrious prisoner, but the remote South Atlantic island offered few choices. They settled on …
The Briars, Napoleon’s First St Helena Residence Read More »
I love meeting fellow Napoleonic enthusiasts, such as my new friend Alix Sundquist. Her fascination began when, twelve years old and living in Argentina, she came across Emil Ludwig’s Napoleon in the library at her grandfather’s estancia. She’s been hooked on Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte ever since. After a career in the U.S. Foreign Service, …
Theoretically, Napoleon’s toddler son, known as the King of Rome and called François, became Napoleon II on June 22, 1815, when Napoleon abdicated in his favor after the battle of Waterloo. In reality, the boy never ruled. With the help of France’s enemies, Louis XVIII claimed the throne, reestablishing the Bourbon dynasty. Meanwhile, young Napoleon …
In 1796, Napoleon married Josephine Beauharnais, the widow of an aristocrat who had been guillotined. On their wedding day, Napoleon was twenty-six and Josephine thirty-two. His future looked promising; she was bankrupt. He married for love, she for convenience. They had a tumultuous life together until 1809 when it became clear she could never provide …
At the far end of Longwood’s reception hall, the room in which Napoleon died, a door opens into the dining room. Here his companions-in-exile and his occasional guests gathered in the evening to eat a brief supper—for meals with Napoleon were only twenty-minute affairs. Afterward, they dissected battles or the emperor read aloud from Corneille, …
