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Napoleonic Wars, France - Historical Biography, France - Political Biography, Island Nations of Africa - History, 1800 - 1815 (Napoleonic Wars) - French History
Emperor's Last Island by Julia Blackburn β€” book cover

Emperor's Last Island

by Julia Blackburn
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Overview

In 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on St. Helenad surreal exile that would last until his death six years later. "A resonant meditation on exile, fame, the stories we tell about ourselves (and) the bigger stories we tell about our great figures."--Los Angeles Times Book Review.

In 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on St. Helenad surreal exile that would last until his death six years later. "A resonant meditation on exile, fame, the stories we tell about ourselves (and) the bigger stories we tell about our great figures."--Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Synopsis

In 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on St. Helenad surreal exile that would last until his death six years later. "A resonant meditation on exile, fame, the stories we tell about ourselves (and) the bigger stories we tell about our great figures."--Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Publishers Weekly

An engaging chronicle of Napoleon's difficult exile. (Apr.)

About the Author, Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn is the author of three books of nonfiction, Charles Waterton, The Emperor’s Last Island, and Daisy Bates in the Desert, and of two novels, The Book of Color and The Leper’s Companions, both of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in England.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

An engaging chronicle of Napoleon's difficult exile. (Apr.)

Library Journal

Part history, part travelog, part personal reminiscence, this unusual and intriguing book treats Napoleon Bonaparte's life in exile (1815-21) on the remote British island of St. Helena. Scholars will find no new facts or interpretations here, but Blackburn offers a vivid evocation of the mood and setting of the dethroned emperor's final years, mixing stories about her own family and visit to the island with details about Napoleon. The book expertly conjures up images of the aging Napoleon playing with local children, quarreling with his British guards, and getting fat in his rat-infested house on the warm, wet, and windswept island. One lively topic about which the author has little to say, unfortunately, is the cause of the emperor's death. On that question one should see a book absent from Blackburn's bibliography: The Murder of Napoleon ( LJ 2/15/82) by Ben Weider and David Hapgood.-- T.J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., N.Y.

Book Details

Published
March 1, 1993
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pages
288
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780679739371

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