Napoleon's Doctor: The St Helena Diary of Barry O'Meara

by Hubert O'Connor

Overview

A fascinating glimpse into the mind of Napoleon in exile – his opinions on love and war, his reflections on the most important events of his life – by one of his closest confidantes

In 1815, the young Dublin doctor Barry O’Meara accepted the opportunity of a lifetime to look after Napoleon Bonaparte in his banishment on St Helena. In one of the most isolated places on earth, doctor and patient became intimate friends.

The core of Napoleon’s Doctor is the diary O’Meara kept, at Napoleon’s suggestion, while on St Helena. He records in lively detail many hours of Napoleon’s conversation, ranging from his views on class, religion and slavery to his love for Josephine and why Waterloo was lost.

Napoleon was only fifty-one when he died on St Helena. This book ends with a detailed solution to a mystery that has plagued historians: was he poisoned by his British jailers?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847178916
Publisher:	Irish American Book Company
Publication date:	07/22/2017
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dr Hubert O’Connor was a well-known obstetrician and gynaecologist in Dublin. He played rugby for Ireland and was capped four times. After ten years’ post-graduate education in France and London, he set up his practice in Dublin. He was married to Anne, and they had two children. He spent thirty years researching the history of Barry O’Meara and Napoleon, and lectured on the subject all over the world. Dr O’Connor died in 2011.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Irish doctor 4

Chapter 2 The fateful deecision 17

Chapter 3 Journal of a voyage 29

Chapter 4 Early days on St Helena 41

Chapter 5 Barry O'Meara's diary 63

Chapter 6 Napoleon's last days 177

Chapter 7 Barry O'Meara in London 189

Chapter 8 Napoleon returns to France 201

Appendix 1 The residents at Longwood 1815-1821 206

Appendix 2 Civil and military establishment of St Helena 208

Appendix 3 Post-mortem and exhumation 210

Index of names 212