Napoleon's gorgeous centaur-the life of Murat
Joachim Murat has come to epitomise the beau ideal cavalryman. Indeed, in the decades following the Napoleonic era, as a horse soldier excelled to extraordinary prominence, the name of Murat was often considered as analogous. In reality nobody could come close in stature and performance. Murat was one of many young men who saw the French Revolution as an opportunity to prosper in influence, power, status and wealth. An unabashed self publicist, his gorgeous uniforms were singular and exceptional even in an age when the dandy in military uniform was the norm. His ambition was insatiable and in this was the root of his downfall, for he lacked the intelligence and moderation to consolidate his advantages. Yet, Murat rose to be a soldier of the highest rank, through marriage a member of Napoleon's own family, he was elevated to the aristocracy as Duke of Berg and in time crowned King of Naples. Though, like many of his calling, he was no military mastermind Murat was a reliable lieutenant to Napoleon often achieving-through deeds of daring-far more than other senior officers could for their emperor. Above all there could be no doubt about the quality of Murat's personal courage. He led from the front and latterly rode into the fiercest melees armed only with a riding crop. Though he came from a different and lesser mould than his master Napoleon, Murat fatally shared his weakness for conceits and hubris and, as with Napoleon himself, poor judgment ended his career ignominiously before a firing squad of his former subjects. Atteridge's biography is a well regarded classic and is highly recommended.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

The life of one of the most notable of Napoleon's marshals
There are few students of the Napoleonic epoch who require much introduction to the character of Marshal Ney. In an empire of many courageous men who would stand at the emperor's side, Ney was one of the most charismatic and outstanding. Though he rose to the highest rank, he ever had the sensibilities of a cavalryman and with his raw courage, blunt manner, ruddy complexion and habit of exposing himself to the heart of the action he justifiably earned his sobriquet, 'the Bravest of the Brave.' As with most of the soldiers who were closest to Napoleon, Ney was present on many fields of conflict throughout the period of the Napoleonic Wars, but it is perhaps telling that for many it is the image of Ney standing in the snows of the disastrous retreat from Moscow, among the very last men of the rearguard fending off the harassing Cossacks, that resonates in the mind. Ney it was too who continually hurled himself among the futile waves of massed cavalry as they tried to sweep Wellington's infantry of the ridge at Waterloo. And it was Ney, of course, perhaps finally a victim of his own reckless impulses, who faced the firing squad for his volte face and support for Napoleon during the fateful 'Hundred Days.' This biography by Atteridge is a well regarded classic and an essential addition to any library of the Napoleonic era.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.