In exile on St Helena, Napoleon regretted not enriching Corsica when, as French emperor, he easily could have. Having developed an idyllic memory of his youth, he dictated to his secretary Las Cases that, “the Bonaparte family had retired [from Corsica] to Nice [in mainland France].” Napoleon’s last visit to Corsica was a quick stopover …
While I focused on writing my novel (working title: The Eaglet’s Legacy), October has flown by. As a final post before November, here’s a reminder to take a look at the video of photos from my trip to St Helena.
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, …
