Patrice Gueniffey is the leading French historian of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic age. This book, hailed as a masterwork on its publication in France, takes up the epic narrative at the heart of this turbulent period: the life of Napoleon himself, the man who—in Madame de Staël’s words—made the rest of “the human race anonymous.” Gueniffey follows Bonaparte from his obscure boyhood in Corsica, to his meteoric rise during the Italian and Egyptian campaigns of the Revolutionary wars, to his proclamation as Consul for Life in 1802. Bonaparte is the story of how Napoleon became Napoleon. A future volume will trace his career as emperor.
Most books approach Napoleon from an angle—the Machiavellian politician, the military genius, the life without the times, the times without the life. Gueniffey paints a full, nuanced portrait. We meet both the romantic cadet and the young general burning with ambition—one minute helplessly intoxicated with Josephine, the next minute dominating men twice his age, and always at war with his own family. Gueniffey recreates the violent upheavals and global rivalries that set the stage for Napoleon’s battles and for his crucial role as state builder. His successes ushered in a new age whose legacy is felt around the world today.
Averse as we are now to martial glory, Napoleon might seem to be a hero from a bygone time. But as Gueniffey says, his life still speaks to us, the ultimate incarnation of the distinctively modern dream to will our own destiny.
Patrice Gueniffey is Director of the Raymond Aron Center for Political Research at L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. One of France’s leading historians of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic ages, he is the author of Bonaparte, the monumental first volume of the definitive modern French biography of Napoleon.
Table of Contents
Contents List of Maps Introduction Part One. Napoleon and Corsica: 1769–1793 1. An Italian Family in Corsica 2. A French Upbringing 3. The French Officer and the Corsican Patriot 4. The Revolutionary of Ajaccio 5. Lost Illusions Part Two. Entry on Stage: 1793–1796 6. Toulon 7. In Search of a Future 8. Happiness Part Three. The Italian Campaign: 1796–1797 9. That Beautiful Italy 10. An Italian Policy? 11. On the Road to Vienna 12. Mombello 13. Saving the Directory 14. Campoformio 15. Parisian Interlude Part Four. The Egyptian Expedition: 1798–1799 16. The Road to the Indies 17. The Conquest of the Nile Color illustrations 18. Governing Egypt 19. Jaffa 20. The Return from the Orient Part Five. Crossing the Rubicon: 1799 21. The Conspiracy 22. Brumaire Part Six. A King for the Revolution: 1799–1802 23. First Consul 24. First Steps 25. From the Tuileries to Marengo 26. Works and Days 27. The Turning Point of 1801 28. Peace with the Church 29. The Top of the Ladder Notes Bibliography Index
