Jonathan Boff at Literary Review:
The tale of the unknown Corsican soldier who rose from nothing to the throne of France, and conquered Europe from the Pyrenees to the gates of Moscow, only to lose it all, is an epic of such drama that, in over two hundred years, only one person has managed to make it boring. Heaven knows how Ridley Scott managed it. Andrew Roberts does a much better job with this new book, which rattles along like a gun carriage charging into action. It is of course a familiar story, not least to Roberts himself. In 2014 he wrote Napoleon the Great, which made the case for bracketing his subject with Alexander, Peter and Frederick. That was a full biography which portrayed Napoleon in action, both on the battlefield and in the council chamber as a civilian lawgiver. It showed his genius in full context, the only way to make proper sense of his whole tragic arc, through hubris to eventual nemesis.
Napoleon and his Marshals returns to this monumental tale. The twist this time is that while of course Napoleon remains in the spotlight, he now shares the stage with the twenty-six men whom he installed as marshals of France.
more here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.