Beyond the Billiard Room lies the Reception Room. Here, Napoleon, standing by the fireplace, one arm resting on the black stone mantel, greeted his visitors. Here, he argued with the British governor, Hudson Lowe, whom both Napoleon and Lowe himself, viewed as his jailer. Here, on May 5, 1821, Napoleon died. This is Longwood’s hallowed […]
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We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, this afternoon. The seas were rough and the mood somber during the five-day return voyage on the RMS St Helena. Even with stabilizers dampening the ship’s roll, she bucked high waves and heaved continuously. Gray skies and occasional rain added to the gloom. The first two days, we
As visitors did during Napoleon’s time, I entered Longwood House up the stone steps through the green latticed portico, and stepped into the Billiard Room. The French volunteers-in-exile who had accompanied Napoleon crossed that same threshold with heavy hearts for a man without a future. Back then, sympathizers and enemies alike must have felt awe
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After Napoleon’s burial on May 9, 1821, his French entourage left St Helena within days. Longwood House itself fell into neglect, reverting into an agricultural property. Napoleon’s own rooms were used to store farm equipment, while termites demolished much of the rest of the structure. Hearing of its sorry state in 1854, Napoleon III (our
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In some ways, St Helena seems a lot like other islands I’ve visited: cinderblock homes, lush greenery along potholed roads, and a limited selection in the grocery store, but this place has surprised me. With just three Napoleonic sites and nine days to spend, I thought I’d be reading novels, reorganizing my laptop filing system,
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While looking through St Helena’s official archives, I found the record of Napoleon’s death and burial in May, 1821. In the middle of the page is the entry, “Napoleon Bonaparte, late Emperor of France, he died on the 5th Instant at the old House at Longwood, and was interred on Mr Richard Torbett’s Estate.” Click
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At first glance on a sunny day, Longwood House seems like a pleasant place to be exiled. The garden, in particular, presents a cheery face, with daisies, day lilies, and the native ebony bush in flower. In 1819, three years into his exile, Napoleon corralled his small entourage into planting a lush garden, much like
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To get the lay of the land, I decided to see St Helena’s historical sites first as a pure tourist, joining a group of my fellow shipmates for the Napoleonic tour in a modified 1929 Chevrolet. The engine whined as the car clung to steep hillsides on twisty one-lane roads, the driver honking at each
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After five relaxing days on calm seas, we rose early to capture a true Napoleonic experience: our first sight of the island’s dark cliffs at dawn. Although my camera couldn’t do it justice, St Helena’s forbidding silhouette didn’t disappoint me. The barren rock faces do indeed rise out of the sea like prison walls. Napoleon’s
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The RMS St Helena proved more pleasant than I had expected from a dual-purpose passenger and cargo ship. Our cabin was roomy, the food good without being exceptional, and the service friendly. The crew tried hard to provide amusements—shuffleboard, trivia contests, movies—throughout each day. Mostly, I read on deck or talked with other travelers. I
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