Napoleon

By Vincent Cronin (2009)

First published in 1971, Vincent Cronin’s classic biography of Napoleon is now available as an ebook for the first time.

‘I wanted to find a Napoleon I could picture as a living, breathing man.’

Vincent Cronin superbly realises his objectives in this, probably the finest of all modern biographies of Napoleon. It is generally regarded as the author’s masterpiece.

This edition does not include illustrations.

Fact of the Day

Henry the Fowler, king of East Francia and founder of the Ottonian dynasty of German rulers, once traded a large part of Swabia (modern Switzerland and Alsace) for a spear.

Quote of the Day

"They are well named, for they have the countenance of angels, and as such should be coheirs with the angels in heaven. "

~ Pope Gregory I on the Angles, recorded by Bede

On This Day

1184 BCE The traditional date for the fall of Troy, when the besieged city was eventually broken by the Greeks.

1558 Sixteen-year-old Mary Queen of Scots married the fourteen-year-ols Dauphin of France, Francis. The marriage didn't last long: Francis died just two years later from an ear condition, although the cause of it has never been confirmed.

1731 Daniel Defoe, writer, spy and merchant died, probably while in hiding from his creditors (it is said he owed £17,000 after a souring of business relationships with France).

1915 The Armenian Genocide started, when the Ottoman government arrested and deported around 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders. By its cessation in 1923, about 1.5 million Armenians are thought to have died.

1916 At midday, the Easter Rising started. It was the attempt by a group of Irish republicans to establish a free Irish state.