Napoleon Bonaparte: a man of intense emotion, iron self-discipline, acute intelligence and immeasurable energy. Michael Broers brings this remarkable man to life, from his dangerous Corsican roots to the epic battles of Austerlitz, Jena and Friedland. Here is the incredible story of how one man's sheer determination, ruthlessness and careful calculation drove France to conquer Europe. This is the first volume of a revelatory new biography of the great ruler told with energy, style and brand new research. Here is the first life in which Napoleon speaks in his own uncensored voice - but not always as he wanted the world to hear him.

An accomplished Oxford scholar delivers a dynamic new history covering the last chapter of the emperor's life—from his defeat in Russia and the drama of Waterloo to his final exile—as the world Napoleon has created begins to crumble around him.  In 1811, Napoleon stood at his zenith. He had defeated all his continental rivals, come to an entente with Russia, and his blockade of Britain seemed, at long last, to be a success. The emperor had an heir on the way with his new wife, Marie-Louise, the young daughter of the Emperor of Austria. His personal life, too, was calm and secure for the first time in many years. It was a moment of unprecedented peace and hope, built on the foundations of emphatic military victories. But in less than two years, all of this was in peril. In four years, it was gone, swept away by the tides of war against the most powerful alliance in European history. The rest of his life was passed on a barren island. This is not a story any novelist could create; it is reality as epic. Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire traces this story through the dramatic narrative of the years 1811-1821 and explores the ever-bloodier conflicts, the disintegration and reforging of the bonds among the Bonaparte family, and the serpentine diplomacy that shaped the fate of Europe. At the heart of the story is Napoleon’s own sense of history, the tensions in his own character, and the shared vision of a family dynasty to rule Europe. Drawing on the remarkable resource of the new edition of Napoleon’s personal correspondence produced by the Fondation Napoleon in Paris, Michael Broers dynamic new history follows Napoleon’s thoughts and feelings, his hopes and ambitions, as he fought to preserve the world he had created. Much of this turns on his relationship with Tsar Alexander of Russia, in so many respects his alter ego, and eventual nemesis. His inability to understand this complex man, the only person with the power to destroy him, is key to tracing the roots of his disastrous decision to invade Russia—and his inability to face diplomatic and military reality thereafter. Even his defeat in Russia was not the end. The last years of the Napoleonic Empire reveal its innate strength, but it now faced hopeless odds. The last phase of the Napoleonic Wars saw the convergence of the most powerful of forces in European history to date: Russian manpower and British money. The sheer determination of Tsar Alexander and the British to bring Napoleon down is a story of compromise and sacrifice. The horrors and heroism of war are omnipresent in these years, from Lisbon to Moscow, in the life of the common solider. The core of this new book reveals how these men pushed Napoleon back from Moscow to St. Helena. Among this generation, there was no more remarkable persona than Napoleon. His defeat forged his myth—as well as his living tomb on St. Helena. The audacious enterprise of the 100 Days, reaching its crescendo at the Battle of Waterloo, marked the spectacular end of an unprecedented public life. From the ruins of a life—and an empire—came a new continent and a legend that haunts Europe still. 

Volume I of The Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars covers the international foreign political dimensions of the wars and the social, legal, political and economic structures of the Empire. Leading historians from around the world come together to discuss the different aspects of the origins of the Napoleonic Wars, their international political implications and the concrete ways the Empire was governed. This volume begins by looking at the political context that produced the Napoleonic Wars and setting it within the broader context of eighteenth century great power politics in the Age of Revolution. It considers the administration and governance of the Empire, including with France's client states and the role of the Bonaparte family in the Empire. Further chapters in the volume examine the war aims of the various protagonists and offer an overall assessment of the nature of war in this period.

'The Politics of Religion in Napoleonic Italy' explores the cultural conflict created by French rule in Italy at the start of the 19th century. The book traces the events leading up to the excommunication of Napoleon and the Pope's exile from Rome.

The Politics of Religion in Napoleonic Italy explores the intense cultural conflict created by French rule in Italy at the start of the nineteenth century. Napoleon's desire for cultural conformity struck at the heart of Italian religious life. Yet the reforms imposed by French rule created resentment and resistance across Italy, finally leading to Napoleon's famous quarrel with Pope Pius VII.
In this fascinating study, Mike Broers traces the events leading up to the ex-communication of Napoleon and the Pope's arrest and exile from Rome. Using previously neglected French and Italian archival sources, this book reveals how the alliance between Church and people grew in the face of alien, imperial rule. It exposes the vital role this union played in preventing Italy from being totally assimilated into the French empire.

eBook available with sample pages: 020316590X

Napoleon Bonaparte dominated the public life of Europe like no other individual before him. Not surprisingly, the story of the man himself has usually swamped the stories of his subjects. This book looks at the history of the Napoleonic Empire from an entirely new perspective- that of the ruled rather than the ruler. Michael Broers concentrates on the experience of the people of Europe- particularly the vast majority of Napoleon's subjects who were neither French, nor willing participants in the great events of the period- during the dynamic but short-lived career of Napoleon, when half the European continent fell under his rule. In a new edition of a highly acclaimed book, Broers weaves together a myriad of regional experiences to produce a social history of the Napoleonic Empire with a truly panoramic scope.

Napoleon’s life reached its most extraordinary stage, between 1805 and 1810.

In 1805, Napoleon was suddenly at war with Britain, Russia, and Austria. He mobilised all his power to confront them, unleashing his magnificent Grande Armée. Its first, resounding victory at Austerlitz was followed by a whirlwind of campaigns, bringing Napoleon and his men to the borders of Russia.

These stunning triumphs made Napoleon the master of the continent, but they left Britain unbowed. In the years that followed, this struggle with Britain came to dominate Napoleon's actions, leading him into the bloodbath of the Spanish Peninsular war, and his attempt to blockade Europe against British commerce.

In 1809, Austria launched yet another assault on him. By 1810, Napoleon had routed them, and divorced Josephine in order to marry the daughter of the Austrian Emperor.

But at a time of such victory, his own family was torn asunder in the struggle for survival.

The Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars is a definitive history of the Napoleonic Wars drawing on a wealth of modern scholarship and leading expertise in the field. It offers a comprehensive account of the Wars from their origins in eighteenth-century diplomacy to the memory and political legacy they left behind. The three volumes cover the grand strategies of the combatants, the campaigns they fought, and the composition of the forces at their disposal; they analyse their conflicting ideologies, alliances and diplomacy, and the varieties of resistance and occupation; and they assess their legacy for future generations. They challenge conventional assumptions about the nature of war in the period and apply methodologies derived from social and cultural history as well as from the new military history of recent years. These volumes take full account of the latest research and present a history of the Napoleonic Wars for the twenty-first century.

The Mediterranean was one of Napoleon's greatest spheres of influence. With territory in Spain, Italy and, of course, France, Napoleon's regime dominated the Great Sea for much of the early nineteenth century. The 'Napoleonic Mediterranean' was composed of almost the entirety of the western, European lands bordering its northern shores, however tenuously many of those shores were held. The disastrous attempt to conquer Egypt in 1798-99, and the rapid loss of Malta to the British, sealed its eastward and southern limits. None of Napoleon's Mediterranean possessions were easily held; they were volatile societies which showed determined resistance to the new state forged by the French Revolution. In this book, acclaimed historian and biographer of Napoleon, Michael Broers looks at the similarities and differences between Napoleon's Mediterranean imperial possessions. He considers the process of political, military and legal administration as well as the challenges faced by Napoleon's Prefects in overcoming hostility in the local population. With chapters covering a range of imperial territories, this book is a unique and valuable addition to the historical literature on Napoleonic Europe and the process and practice of imperialism.

Europe's Restorations were characterised by their evolving dialectics. The chapters in this first volume address the key questions and controversies of Napoleonic history from a national and international perspective. From the re-ordering of the European world through the tools of intervention, occupation and diplomacy, to the creation of new constitutional monarchies across France, Scandinavia and Germany the volume outlines the processes that realigned national priorities and the accompanying dynamics of social and political identity. In a structure that makes sense of what Luigi Mascilli Migliorini describes as the 'fiendishly complex' process of reconstructing order in post-Napoleonic Europe, this collection of essays brings together experts in the field to set a new precedent for transnational research frameworks in the study of the European Restorations.

The second volume shines a light on the cultural and social changes that took place during the epoch of European Restorations, when the death of the Napoleonic empire existed as a crucial moment for contemporaries. Expanding the transnational approach of Volume I, the chapters focus on the transmutation of ordinary experiences of war into folklore and popular culture, the emergence of grassroots radical politics and conspiracies on the Left and Right, and the relationship between literacy and religion, with new cases included from Spain, Norway and Russia. A wide-ranging and impressive work, this book completes a collection on the history of the European Restorations.

Europe's Restorations were characterised by their evolving dialectics. The chapters in this first volume address the key questions and controversies of Napoleonic history from a national and international perspective. From the re-ordering of the European world through the tools of intervention, occupation and diplomacy, to the creation of new constitutional monarchies across France, Scandinavia and Germany the volume outlines the processes that realigned national priorities and the accompanying dynamics of social and political identity. In a structure that makes sense of what Luigi Mascilli Migliorini describes as the 'fiendishly complex' process of reconstructing order in post-Napoleonic Europe, this collection of essays brings together experts in the field to set a new precedent for transnational research frameworks in the study of the European Restorations.

The Mediterranean was one of Napoleon's greatest spheres of influence. With territory in Spain, Italy and, of course, France, Napoleon's regime dominated the Great Sea for much of the early nineteenth century. The 'Napoleonic Mediterranean' was composed of almost the entirety of the western, European lands bordering its northern shores, however tenuously many of those shores were held. The disastrous attempt to conquer Egypt in 1798-99, and the rapid loss of Malta to the British, sealed its eastward and southern limits. None of Napoleon's Mediterranean possessions were easily held; they were volatile societies which showed determined resistance to the new state forged by the French Revolution. In this book, acclaimed historian and biographer of Napoleon, Michael Broers looks at the similarities and differences between Napoleon's Mediterranean imperial possessions. He considers the process of political, military and legal administration as well as the challenges faced by Napoleon's Prefects in overcoming hostility in the local population. With chapters covering a range of imperial territories, this book is a unique and valuable addition to the historical literature on Napoleonic Europe and the process and practice of imperialism.

The second volume shines a light on the cultural and social changes that took place during the epoch of European Restorations, when the death of the Napoleonic empire existed as a crucial moment for contemporaries. Expanding the transnational approach of Volume I, the chapters focus on the transmutation of ordinary experiences of war into folklore and popular culture, the emergence of grassroots radical politics and conspiracies on the Left and Right, and the relationship between literacy and religion, with new cases included from Spain, Norway and Russia. A wide-ranging and impressive work, this book completes a collection on the history of the European Restorations.