READING NOVELS ABOUT THE NAPOLEONIC ERA

The Napoleonic period begins with Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power as a general for the French Revolutionary government. He married Josephine de Beauharnais in 1796 and, days later, led the French army when it invaded Italy. He took over the reins of power in France in 1799 and was crowned Emperor in 1804. He conquered much of Europe before the setback of his disastrous 1812 campaign in Russia. The British finally defeated him at Waterloo in 1815, after which he was exiled to the island of St. Helena. The personal lives of Napoleon, Josephine and their relatives were full of drama and have been the subject of many novels. This period also offers a particularly rich setting for novels about warfare at sea and on land, as well as novels about life in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars.

THE LAST LOVE – Thomas B. Costain

Napoleon and a teenaged English girl become friends during his exile. https://www.amazon.com/Last-Love-Thomas-B-Costain/dp/0385005660/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1478775736&sr=8-1&keywords=Thomas+B.+Costain%2C+The+Last+Love

THE SONG OF DEPARTURE – Max Gallo

In the original French; English edition, 2004), about the first thirty years of Napoleon’s life and his rise to power in the French Revolution, #1 in the Napoleon quartet. https://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Song-Departure-Gallo-2004-08-06/dp/B01HC1L1CA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1478775813&sr=8-3&keywords=Max+Gallo%2C+The+Song+Of+Departure

TALES OF PASSION, TALES OF WOE – Sandra Gulland

About Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, during the years of his rise to power; #2 in the Josephine trilogy. https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Passion-Woe-Sandra-Gulland/dp/0684856077/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478775917&sr=8-1&keywords=Sandra+Gulland%2C+Tales+of+Passion%2C+Tales+of+Woe

THE COLOUR OF BLOOD – Peter Youds

About two British officers who return to the Peninsula in 1809 under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley and fight in the Douro and Talavera campaigns. https://www.amazon.com/Colour-Blood-Ties-Book-ebook/dp/B00A1MFX86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478775986&sr=8-1&keywords=Peter+Youds%2C+The+Colour+of+Blood

To pursue this issue, you can also read

http://meetingbenches.com/2016/11/horizons-glory-images-napoleonic-epic/