#las cases

Not sure but I think these are people begging Napoleon not to abdicate a second time. Seems a bit unlikely but okay.

Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène. Suivi de Napoléon dans l'exil ; [Derniers moments de Napoléon]. Et de L'historique de la translation des restes mortels de l'empereur Napoléon aux Invalides. T. 1 / par le comte de Las Cases ; par MM. O'Méara et Antomarchi (Vol. 1) 1842

Alexander and Napoleon met again some time after at Erfurt, and exchanged the most striking testimonies of affection. Alexander expressed with earnestness the sentiments of tender friendship and real admiration which he entertained for Napoleon. They passed some days together in the enjoyment of the charms of perfect intimacy and of the most familiar communications of private life. “We were,” said the Emperor, “two young men of quality, who, in their common pleasures, had no secret from each other.”

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"If Alexander’s affection for me was sincere," said the Emperor, “it was alienated from me by the force of intrigue. Certain persons, M——, or others, at the instigation of T——, lost no seasonable opportunity of mentioning instances of my turning him into ridicule, and they assured him, that at Tilsit and Erfurt, he no sooner turned his back than I took the opportunity of laughing at his expense. Alexander is very susceptible, and they must have easily soured his mind. It is certain, that he made bitter complaints of it at Vienna during the congress, and yet nothing was more false; he pleased me, and I loved him.”

It was published 200 years ago in 1823.

1. The Introduction

Hello, Neighbors! Welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon! At last we’re here and today is a bit of a special review. Why special?

Let me explain:

1. Firstly, it’s one of those cases where I stumble upon a media piece via recommendation from another community member. This time it was @suburbanbeatnik , who interviewed the author of the book and there was a contest where the first 3 users to comment would get a free ebook copy via email.

I was the first to comment because I was given the link and because I was really excited about what sounded like a promising story, considering my soft spot for the adventure genre, time travel and alternative history. So yeah, I became one of the lucky three users.

Unfortunately, the book is only available in English and has to be purchased through websites like Amazon, so those who don’t speak English too well might be out of luck for now.

2. Secondly, it’s one of the few anglophone (British, to boot!) media pieces that DO NOT paint Napoleon as a villain! How cool is that?! For newcomers, stumbling upon a gem like that is about as likely as seeing a UFO, so you can bet your asses that I HAD to check out the book!

3. Thirdly, I already mentioned that I’m a sucker for adventure, time travel, historical fiction and alternative history so that really boosted my excitement… as well as my worries. I prayed that the book would turn out to be good. Luckily, it did! More on that later though.

Anyway, before we proceed, this review is dedicated to @suburbanbeatnik and @garethwilliamsauthor . Not only is the latter, well, the author, but he also graciously gave me permission to write said review and I’m thankful for this.

Okay, with formalities out of the way, let’s begin!

2. The Summary

The novel tells the story of one Richard Davey, an ordinary schoolteacher who admires Napoleon and lives a very boring, lonely life.

However, during a fateful holiday in Paris, he gets a chance to leave his old life behind, meet his hero and maybe even change the course of history.

To me, the idea sounds very interesting, so let’s move onto the deeper analysis and see if the execution matches the potential.

3. The Story

Although the beginning of the story did confuse me a bit because we jump straight into action, I. Fucking. Love. This. Book. I was extremely hooked when reading and felt like I was back in my childhood, reading my favorite swashbuckling stories. The excitement is REAL.

The pacing is excellent, most loose ends get tied up in the end, the ending is satisfying yet also realistic and we don’t have the protagonist getting everything he wanted, which is awesome!

I did have a problem with the flashbacks though, mainly because they kept popping up and breaking the storyline immersion, but that’s just me.

Also, there’s a good mix of gritty artlessness (in a good way because it doesn’t gloss over war), a swashbuckling adventure, romance and down time (we can’t have action ALL the time).

The romantic subplot is very well-written and realistic, even though my asexual self still didn’t care much because I don’t normally like romance. Spoiler, it’s one of the few times where the protagonist doesn’t get the love interest in the end, for a lot of reasons.

So yeah, only minor complaints here and there.

(Oh, and tiny bonus for the Frev community: Frev isn’t demonized either!!! Yay!!!)

(P. S. Also there were a lot of moments that cracked me up, like the pun with HMS Bellerophon being called Billy Ruffian.)

4. The Characters

Richard Davey is by far one of the most relatable characters ever, since I can relate to his loneliness (me during the worse days of depression) and love for History (I’m a Frev and Napoleonic nerd). He’s flawed, reacts realistically and in his own way to situations and has a great character arc, from a man just going with the motions of life to a hero who can and does make a difference in history, just not in the way he first planned.

Emile Béraud, a soldier Richard befriends in the past, is an absolute sweetheart. Loyal to a fault, friendly and just as lonely as Richard, he takes part in the adventures and is a very compelling character.

Aunt Patricia, Richard’s only living relative, might be a minor character who doesn’t personally appear, but her presence is felt throughout the story and Richard constantly imagines what she would have to say in his position and how she would judge him.

Madame Odillet, the owner of an antique shop who helps Richard get back in time, is a mysterious woman with a troubled past, who definitely knows more than she first lets on. I like the book parallels between her and witches, even though she’s just a regular human.

Napoleon starts out as an insufferable punchable prick, but later on his portrayal becomes nuanced. He loves and misses his son, has a soft spot for kids, has a temper and at times alternates between acceptance of his fate and resolve to fight back. He’s not in a good place mentally nor physically, but he’s portrayed as someone flawed yet far from being a bad person.

Jerome is an arrogant hedonistic ass. Full stop. But he’s a minor character so I can understand why he’s not as nuanced, even if I wish there was a bit more complexity.

Gourgaud is an impulsive and arrogant bastard who is loyal to his emperor yet entitled due to having saved said emperor twice.

Bertrand and Fanny are extremely sweet.

Las Cases… I found him unpleasant and arrogant.

Murat and Caroline are mentioned and, LUCKILY, not depicted as traitors.

Ney in his cameo is his usual post-Russia reckless self (he possibly had PTSD, I believe).

Overall, the cast is memorable and I did enjoy the portrayals for the most part.

5. The Setting

The descriptions really sell the setting here, in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at Malmaison where Napoleon essentially is Richard’s tour guide.

Always nice to see that the author really did their research and has a way with language to make immersion that much easier to achieve.

6. The Writing

Once again, the descriptions. Short, sweet, to the point.

The language is mostly easily understandable, but there are French words sprinkled in that (fortunately) can be more or less understood in context. I wish there were footnotes with translations though. Oh, and some words were unfamiliar to me as a foreigner so please keep that in mind too.

7. The Conclusion

If you can, please give the book a go. Remarkable adventures, nuanced characters and believable settings that are reminiscent of swashbuckling novels are definitely worth your money, in my humble opinion.

Of course, no work is perfect but I throughly enjoyed this one despite some flaws and I look forward to reading the sequel. It’s not every day we get an anglophone pro-Naps media piece, after all.

On that note, let us conclude today’s soirée. Please stay tuned for updates on future reviews, my dearest Neighbors.

Love,

I never seem to be able to find what I want to find when I look for it. Instead, I usually get distracted by other stuff ... in this case a quote by Napoleon about Robespierre. To be found in Las Cases, “Le Mémorial de Sainte Hélène”, le manuscript retrouvé

Saturday, November 18, 1815

[...] The emperor was going over various points of the Revolution. I asked him for his opinion on Robespierre, whom he did not know. But he did not consider him to have any talent, strength or system. He thought him the true scapegoat of the Revolution, immolated at the moment when he had tried to stop it in its tracks, a destiny common to all those who had dared to undertake it, up to him, Napoleon. The terrorists outlived him, and if they did not continue their excesses, it was because they had to bow to public opinion. Robespierre replied to those who immolated him that he was a stranger to the last executions, that for six weeks he had not appeared at the committees. The emperor said that at the army of Italy, he had seen long letters of him to his brother blaming the horrors of the conventional commissioners who undid the Revolution by their tyranny, etc. Cambacérès, in fact a good judge of this period, had said several times since to the emperor that he did not believe that this decided affair had been a settled affair, that Robespierre had more continuity and design than one thought; that after having overthrown the unrestrained factions which he had to fight, his intention had been the return to order and moderation. [...] 

From Gourgaud’s diary on 12 December 1816. Napoleon has written an effusive farewell letter to Las Cases, who is about to leave Saint Helena. The Emperor then makes the mistake of asking Gourgaud his opinion on the letter. (Any errors in the translation are mine.)

***

The Emperor then makes high praise for Las Cases. It seems like he is a martyr. After the reading, His Majesty asks me what I think. I give my opinion frankly, that this laudatory and tender style does not suit the Emperor towards M. de Las Cases, whom he has only known for a year or eighteen months and who has made no sacrifice for him, nor given him great proofs of devotion; I call for those for whom there is a real danger to be given thus, and that His Majesty had never written such a letter to an old and better friend, such as Duroc or Lannes.

The Emperor is upset, tells me that I am a child, that he doesn't ask my counsel on what he should do, but only if I think that such a letter will have some effect on Hudson Lowe. He rises. Mme de Montholon, her elbows on the table, cuts into the conversation, says that this letter is very good, that I am wrong to object to this or that! I observe to her that when His Majesty does me the honor of speaking to me, I pray Mme de Montholon to not interrupt me in my response. She continues nonetheless. And I am obliged to keep my mouth shut so I don't bring a disrespectful scene before His Majesty. His Majesty has Montholon read the letter, it was the valet Marchand who wrote it, with spelling mistakes. I don't breathe another word, since everyone approves. As the Emperor enters his cabinet for a moment, Montholon says to me: "All the better that the letter be thus, it proves that His Majesty will write similarly about us."

The Emperor, still angry, walks into the drawing room, then sits down, demands a pen and signs the letter, ending it with the words: "Your devoted." Las Cases owes me, in fact, some thanks, for, in cold-blood, His Majesty never would have signed it so; the letter is dated yesterday. Montholon is charged while bringing it to Poppleton with telling him that Bertrand was to have given it to him yesterday, but that being still ill, he had charged him with the commission. In case Poppleton wished to read the letter, Montholon must open it and write on it: "Open by order of Count Bertrand." I keep silent still. Montholon goes out and soon returns; Poppleton slept so deeply that he could not wake him, and handed him the letter the next day.