Napoleon

Georges Lefebvre

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781136807381
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

With a new introduction by Andrew Roberts.

'A penetrating interpretation...No one with a serious interest in the Napoleonic period can afford to ignore it. ' - Times Literary Supplement

Whether viewed as an inspired leader or obsessed tyrant, Napoleon has divided opinion for over 200 years. Few individuals have left such a mark on history. Georges Lefebvre's classic work, published in Routledge Classics in one paperback volume in English for the first time, is a definitive portrait of the Napoleonic era.

Lefebvre's history sweeps us from the lightning coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in 1799 to his final downfall amidst the wheatfields of Waterloo. More than a biography, it is a brilliant survey of the turbulent age Napoleon inaugurated in his attempt to redraw the map of Europe, from the Peninsular War to the invasion of Russia. The cast includes his antagonists – Pitt the Younger, Wellington, Metternich and Tsar Alexander – and his allies – the wily Minister of Police Fouché and Talleyrand, the 'Prince of Diplomats'. Lefebvre's account is equally clear-eyed about Napoleon's genius and his flaws. Napoleon's determination to emulate Caesar and Augustus condemned Europe to more than a decade of war and economic crisis, but he also built an empire, introducing educational, administrative and financial initiatives that are still in place today.

Georges Lefebvre (1877-1959) One of the foremost historians of the Twentieth Century and known as the 'historian's historian', he held the chair of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne. His The French Revolution is also available in Routledge Classics.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Foreword
• From 18 Brumaire to Tilsit 1799–1807
• I The Legacy of the Revolution
• 1 The Conflict Between the Ancien Régime and the Revolution
• 2 The Consequences of the War and the Terms of the Peace
• 3 The Coming of Napoleon Bonaparte
• II The Pacification of France and Europe (1799–1802)
• 4 The Organisation of the Dictatorship in France
• 5 The Pacification of Europe
• 6 Bonaparte Consul For Life
• III Imperial Conquest to the Treaty of Tilsit (1802–1807)
• 7 France and England: The Struggle Renewed (1802–1805)
• 8 Napoleon's Army
• 9 The Formation of the Grand Empire (1805–1807)
• From Tilsit to Waterloo 1807–1815
• I The Imperial Conquests after Tilsit (1807–1812)
• 1 The Continental System (1807–1809)
• 2 The War of 1809
• 3 England's Successes (1807–1811)
• 4 The Continental Blockade
• 5 The Preliminaries of the Russian Campaign (1811–1812)
• II The World in 1812
• 6 Imperial France
• 7 The Continental System
• 8 The Independent Forces
• III The Fall of Napoleon 1812–1815
• 9 The Disintegration of the Continental System (1812–1814)
• 10 The Restoration and the Hundred Days
• Chronology
• Further Reading
• Index