As Napoleon did everyone the courtesy of leaving behind a rich and complicated wake, Scott was able in this volume to forgo his usual tendency of shoehorning some hapless everyman into European history, and instead adhere to the story of the Emperor himself. Free from any obligation to narrative invention, Scott delivers a whirlwind, no-frills account that avoids, when possible, condoning or condemning Bonaparte. As a historical fetishist, Scott doesn’t hesitate to throw around the names of political and military actors with minimal exposition. He excels at describing, sometimes in tedious detail, the complicated military manoeuvres that characterised Napoleon’s strategic brilliance. If you can keep up with Scott’s historical dexterity, this is some of the work’s best material: the journey from military prodigy toying with the Austrian empire, to his dazzling Italian adventures, to being relegated to a quagmire campaign in Egypt by the French powers-that-be, to his antagonistic return to Paris. This is all sharply recounted and the reader is ready to cheer when the young general turns the tables on the French legislature and assumes the mantle of power. (Goodreads)
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