Napoleon III: A Life. - Review - book review

Contemporary Review, July, 2000

Napoleon III: A Life. Fenton Bresler. HarperCollins. [pound]24.99. 438 pages. ISBN 0-00-255787-8. Napoleon III remains one of the most fascinating characters to have appeared on the European stage in modern history. Under his rule France re-assumed a central position in European affairs. His country's defeat, combined with his own fall in 1870, ushered in a new era of German domination which led to two world wars.

The author writes about the Emperor with a passion and commitment that befit such a colourful character. He argues, convincingly, that after his defeat Napoleon planned to return to France to oust the Third Republic and resume his reign and that his plans were undermined by the incompetence of those British consultants called in to cure his urinary infection. This is an enjoyable and well written biography that gives us an extraordinary man and his brilliant Empire.