There are some figures in history whose interest never fades. The cult of Napoleon has sustained and grown over time and promises to reach new heights with the premiere this fall of the next film in Ridley Scott’s series, Joaquin Phoenix, in the role of the Corsican soldier. The genius, energy, and curiosity around the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) caused Napoleonic literature to flourish again.
Despite its major flaws, Napoleon has political skills of the first order: an extraordinary capacity to work, focus memory, full concentration, and an understanding of reading. He restored order in France, which gave new life to commerce and industry, which would soon, however, be again slackened by its incessant and incessant wars.
Ernest Bendris WRITES That’s not in my Napoleon book (Almuzara) to verify the most unknown and unique aspects of this historical figure. Is his obsession with Egypt real? His big spelling mistakes, which he compensated with an amazing mathematical mind, His library of over thirty thousand volumes? Few characters left France and Europe with such a deep score, with its lights and shadows.
In Napoleon in the East (The Circle of Books), the writer Miguel del Rey Sand completely immersed himself in the political campaigns of the East, from Egypt to Syria, whose consequences not only left their mark on the military but also the artistic and cultural development of France in the 19th century. On Maxims and Thoughts‘ part, the Ariel publishing house collected some of his most interesting phrases: “Victory has a hundred fathers; defeat is an orphan.”
Ruth Scurr He wrote Napoleon: A Life Among Gardens and Shadows (Shackleton Books), a revealing picture of the scenes that accompany the soldier, from the olive grove of his childhood in Corsica to the gardens of Cairo, Rome, Elba, Hougoumont, or San Helen. We conclude these recommendations with the title for art lovers: Military Painting by Keith Rocco, René Chartrand, and Matthew Delamater (Desperta Ferro), which brings together the best drawings and engravings of Napoleon’s most famous campaigns.
