I write historical fiction and blog about all things Napoleonic.

Why Napoleon? Read on to discover how this unlikely man—who’s both revered and reviled—defined an era. But you won’t learn much about battles here. I’m interested in Napoleon himself, in the people around him, and in the culture of his era. St. Helena Island in the remote South Atlantic, where Napoleon spent the last five years of his life in exile (and which I visited in 2011), is a particular fascination of mine.

Margaret Rodenberg, author of the historical novel, FINDING NAPOLEON
Finding Napoleon: A Novel is winning awards
 

My novel, FINDING NAPOLEON­­—with its adaptation of Napoleon Bonaparte’s real attempt to write a novel—offers a fresh take on Europe’s most powerful man after he’s lost everything. A forgotten woman of history, the audacious Albine de Montholon, narrates their tale of intrigue, love, and betrayal.

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA Part 4

Napoleon's spyglass on St Helena, Museo Napoleónica, photo Luke Dalla Bona

Napoleonic Links from St Helena to Cuba As I posted in June 2011, Napoleon Bonaparte isn’t the only thing interesting about St Helena Island. After all, Napoleon’s exile, which ran from 1815 to 1821, only accounts for a moment in the island’s 500-year history. So this past year, when I wrote an article about links …

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA Part 4 Read More »

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE’S DRAMATIC RISE TO POWER

Napoleon as Emperor, Workshop of Gerard, 1805, Weider collection, Montreal, photo Margaret Rodenberg

Finding Napoleon in Virginia Again The Napoleon Bonaparte exhibit at Richmond’s Museum of Fine Arts brought together exquisite artifacts, each fascinating in its own right. As a collection, they tell a visual story of Napoleon’s meteoric rise to power. Here are three pieces that touch on Napoleon Bonaparte’s early career: Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte as …

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE’S DRAMATIC RISE TO POWER Read More »

FINDING more NAPOLEON IN VIRGINIA

Napoleonic Historical Society Conference 2018, Margaret Rodenberg and friends

Napoleonic Historical Society Conference At the end of September, the Napoleonic Historical Society held its annual conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. Imagine a weekend discussing Napoleon Bonaparte with other enthusiasts (and critics)! In addition to social events, there were interesting presentations on cultural and military topics, ranging from women in Napoleonic art to guerrilla warfare in …

FINDING more NAPOLEON IN VIRGINIA Read More »

FINDING NAPOLEON IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

View of Longwood House, 1819, Attributed to Louis-Joseph Marchand, photo Margaret Rodenberg 2018, original Chateauroux, Musee-Hotel Bertrand

Napoleon: The Imperial Household Exhibit at the VMFA A fabulous exhibit of art and artifacts from Napoleon Bonaparte’s various households has been visiting the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It’s moving on to Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (October 19, 2018 – March 3, 2019) and then to the Chateau de Fontainbleau (April 3, …

FINDING NAPOLEON IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA Read More »

FINDING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AT THE FBI

Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon's great-nephew

Okay, not the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, but how about his American great-nephew? In 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851 – 1921), founded the first corps of federal government investigators. Those thirty-four Special Agents became the Bureau of Investigation, later called the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With the FBI dominating today’s headlines, I thought I’d …

FINDING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AT THE FBI Read More »

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA Part 3

In Cuba’s Museo Napoleónico, my favorite item is Napoleon Bonaparte’s pocket watch (featured in my last post). My second favorite is Jean-Georges Vibert’s painting, Planning for the Coronation. In it, the Consul-for-Life Napoleon Bonaparte is rearranging dolls on a floor plan of Notre Dame Cathedral. If you know Jacques-Louis David’s monumental painting, Le Sacré (The Coronation), …

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA Part 3 Read More »

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA

Who knew one of the world’s great Napoleonic museums is in Cuba? Surprisingly, Havana’s Museo Napoleónico contains the Western Hemisphere’s largest collection of artifacts associated with Napoleon Bonaparte. Thanks to the Napoleonic Historical Society, I got to visit it. The collection belonged to Julio Lobo (1898 – 1983), Cuba’s richest sugar cane magnate. Lobo, who …

FINDING NAPOLEON IN CUBA Read More »

Finding Napoleon in Abu Dhabi

My last post highlighted the artist Kehinde Wiley’s satiric imitation of Jacques-Louis David’s painting of Napoleon Bonaparte Crosssing the Alps. David painted five versions of this iconic image. It turns out one of these—the one that usually hangs in the Palace of Versailles—is on long-term loan to new Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab …

Finding Napoleon in Abu Dhabi Read More »