Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne

Description

Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne was Napoleon’s companion at the military college of Brienne and, for six crucial years, his private secretary — writing his letters, keeping his secrets, and standing behind the chair while the future emperor composed dispatches that decided campaigns. His Memoirs, published after his death, follow Napoleon from the hungry young officer of Corsican origins to the summit of the Empire and down into abdication.

Bourrienne writes with an insider’s daily knowledge and the sour hindsight of a man who ended his years out of favour with his old master. Scholars argue over his accuracy on nearly every page, which is part of the fascination; as literature the memoirs are magnificent — a portrait of Napoleon in shirtsleeves gambling with Europe, drawn by the one man who was permitted to tell him jokes.

Why readers still come back to it

• A secretary’s eyewitness view of Napoleon the man, not the monument.
• Egypt, Brumaire, and the Empire observed from behind the desk at headquarters.
• The most entertaining and the most arguable of all Napoleonic memoirs.

About this DodaBooks edition

This long work is arranged for serious reading and easy reference: clear type, a structured table of contents, and sensible chapter break-up across the many parts of the memoir. The campaign opens from the file the moment your order is complete.