Yesterday, I celebrated today’s 242nd anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s birth with a group of new friends from the Napoleonic Historical Society. Over a champagne brunch at the Fort Myer officers club, we toasted the Emperor. I’m looking forward to seeing these folks and other Napoleonic enthusiasts at the Historical Society’s annual conference, held this year […]
Happy Birthday, Napoleon! Read More »
A BOOK REVIEW: To Befriend an Emperor: Betsy Balcombe’s Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte on St Helena, edits and introduction by J. David Markham, Ravenhall Books, 2005. (Originally published in 1844 as Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon on the Island of St Helena, by Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe Abell.) As I covered in my last blog, Napoleon’s
A BOOK REVIEW: To Befriend an Emperor, Betsy Balcombe’s Memoirs Read More »
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,
A Napoleon Enthusiast Creates Eagle Scarf Read More »
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
More about Napoleon’s Son Read More »
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
The Boy on the Mantel in Longwood’s Dining Room Read More »
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,
Longwood House Part 5 Read More »
In 1819, the French general and grand marshal, Henri-Gratien Bertrand, who had accompanied Napoleon into exile, designed a large birdcage for Longwood House’s gardens. Chinese carpenters, who otherwise spent their time repairing the poorly-constructed house, built the cage and stocked it with doves and pheasants. At first, Napoleon admired it, but he was known to
More St Helena Prisoners Read More »
When Napoleon arrived on St Helena in October, 1815, there was only one building worthy of a sovereign: Plantation House, the governor’s country residence. Situated in a sheltered, charmingly bucolic setting, it provided a perfect location for Napoleon and his retinue. The military could easily defend its boundaries from invasion or escape. The governor’s family
Prisoners of St Helena Read More »
At their annual benefit last weekend in Richmond, Virginia, James River Writers recognized my novel LITTLE SONG as one of three finalists in their Best Unpublished Novel Contest. Founded in 2002, the Richmond, Virginia, non-profit organization “serves aspiring and professional writers and passionate readers in all genres through a variety of programs, services, and events,” including their
Recognition for My Novel LITTLE SONG Read More »
