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Napoleon: The End of Glory
Munro Price
Napoleon: The End of Glory
Oxford University Press
October 2014
On Sale: October 2, 2014
320 pages
ISBN: 0199934673
EAN: 9780199934676
Kindle: B00MFO48B6
Hardcover / e-Book
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Military | Non-Fiction History
On April 20, 1814, after a dizzying series of battles,
campaigns, and diplomatic intrigues, a defeated Napoleon
Bonaparte made his farewell speech to the Old Guard in the
courtyard of the Chateau de Fontainebleau and set off for
exile on the island of Elba. Napoleonic legend asserts that
the Emperor was brought down by foreign powers determined to
destroy him and discredit his achievements, with the aid of
highly placed domestic traitors. Others argue that once
Napoleon's military defeats began in 1812, his fall became
inevitable. But in fact, as Munro Price shows in this
brilliant new book, Napoleon's fall could have been avoided
altogether. Exploring a critical and often neglected period of
Napoleonic history between 1812 and 1814, Napoleon: The End
of Glory offers a more complete picture of the Emperor's
decline and fall than any previous work. Price analyzes the
political, military, and diplomatic events of the period,
from Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 to the
multiple failed attempts by Austria to broker peace. He
illuminates the dynamic relationships between Napoleon and
the wily Austrian foreign minister Metternich-whose desire
for equilibrium within the European states system clashed
with Napoleon's unshakeable belief in hegemony and
subjection-and the charming and enigmatic Alexander I of
Russia. And he explores the lasting impact of the bloody
Terror of the French Revolution on Napoleon's decisions once
he came to power. Rejecting the assumption that defeat was unavoidable, Price
considers instead why Napoleon failed to explore a
compromise peace that could have allowed him to keep his
crown, arguing that the answer to this question has powerful
implications for our understanding of the Napoleonic wars. Ultimately, Price provides a convincing portrait of the
Emperor's decline, exposing his blindness, intransigence and
miscalculations; his preference for war and his declining
ability to wage it; and his nearly pathological fear of a
dishonorable peace. A deeply researched study of the moment
of a great man's fall, Napoleon: The End of Glory forces us
to reconsider Napoleon's character, motives, and the reasons
for his spectacular failure.
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