THE WAR ROOM CHALLENGE : MAY 2024 - THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow - a folly that cost him dearly.

The Napoleonic Wars which lasted from 1803 to 1815 and resulted in the Congress of Vienna were a conflict in which the combined forces were eventually too much for the masterly brilliance of the man whom the conflict is now named for.

There is a wealth of writing on the subject including one of the world's most famous novels, War and Peace. The Sharpe series and the Aubrey and Hornblower series are set at the time.
Non-Fiction of real quality also abounds in terms of overall histories of the war as well as of individual battles and biographies of its heroes.

What Am I Reading?

Lieutenant Hornblower by CS Forester
Napoleon by Alan Forrest
Britain Against Napoleon by Roger Knight

I have few "battles or wars" per se . I'm on a book diet this year--attempting to read only from my shelves. I have the following on my shelf, but can't read them all. Possibilities:
1. Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
2. Trumpet Major by Thomas Hardy This is how the war affected business & romance in Wessex. Fiction
3. Napoleon’s Escape from Elba NF
4. Lieutenant Hornblower by CS Forester Fiction
5. The downfall of Napoleon: His escape from Elba, the battle of Waterloo, captivity in St. Helena, and death (Blackie's library of famous books) by Sir Walter Scott NF
6. In These Times: Living in Britain through Napoleon's Wars 1793-1815 by Jenny Uglow. NF
7. Waterloo's Echo: The Exile and Legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte by Alexandre L. Marchand NF
8. The Black Count: Napoleon's Rival and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas by Tom Reiss NF
9. Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien Fiction

And of course, I'm sure I'll take more than a few BB's from others.

I'm reading The Battle: a novel by Patrick Rambaud which won the Prix Goncourt (1997). It's about the 1809 Battle of Essling near Vienna.

I know most people are reading nonfiction for this challenge but Napoleon has thrown up some interesting fantasy novels as well -
Temeraire series by Naomi Novik mixes dragons with warfare.
Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo by Brian Falkner - exciting YA featuring Napoleon with a secret weapon, dinosaurs.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - magic & the Napoleonic Wars

and I found The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon by Alexandre Dumas a fairly great read as well. The introduction is interesting as it outlines Dumas as a boy seeing Napoleon making his way to Waterloo and then again on his return. From memory the book ends after the Battle of Trafalger.

>4 Tess_W: The Trumpet-Major is possibly my least favourite Hardy novel, Tess.
I also have The Black Count on the shelves.

>6 avatiakh: I can heartily recommend Jonathan Strange, Kerry. It is a wonderful novel.

Une ténébreuse affaire and The Rover on the menu for me. Everyone who hasn’t yet read War and Peace should resolve to do so. Non-fiction, I recommend How Far from Austerlitz?: Napoleon 1805-1815 by Alistair Horne. Dislike all the Thomas Hardy I’ve read, but found The Trumpet-Major particularly tedious.

Entering “Napoleon” as a search word in my online library gives me lots of options.

I might go with Napoleon, de schaduw van de revolutie by Bart van Loo. It’s not a biography of Napoleon, but more about what made him possible, I think.

Alternatives:
Napoleon, de stoerste kater van de buurt


Or: Berezina, met Napoleon in de zijspan by Sylvain Tesson

>4 Tess_W: I have to say #1 on your list caught my attention.

My first read for this topic. A bit unorthodox.

The Burns Series: Book One: Fifty Degrees South by M.M. Holt

Was intrigued when I saw an ad for this book on FB, then Paul's War Room challenge came along and this is set during the Napoleonic wars so perfect match for May.
A British ship is sailing towards the Southern end of the world chasing a French vessel that carries a strongbox with something of interest to the Admirality. No one knows what it is. Days behind their quarry, they suddenly are surrounded by beams of blue light coming from some strange clouds. Aliens and napoleon era warships? Interesting combination.
This was the audio book and the person reading did a wonderful job with the accents and voices. It was also a quick read.
Enjoyed and kept my interest although felt a bit let down by the ending. First in a series although the next books seem set in a far distant future, not sure I'll try them.

I looked up at the bookshelf on the headboard of my bed and there was Commodore Hornblower. so that is my current read for this month.

Having already read the Richard Sharpe series, O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin series (twice), and the Hornblower series, it's fair to say this is a time period I'm familiar with. I considered finding a good non-fiction history title, or even finally tackling War & Peace, but decided to go a more whimsical route - an alternate history/fantasy in which magic and dragons enter the fray: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik.

>6 avatiakh: >7 PaulCranswick: I will echo Paul's recommendation of Jonathan Strange, Kerry.

I will be reading two books about the Napoleonic era this month although neither one of them is directly about the war itself: Mirage: Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt by Nina Burleigh and The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon's Greatest Army by Stephen Talty.

My selection, read earlier in the year, was War and Peace translated by Anthony Briggs. It's a very good war novel buried under ~600 pages of soap opera and ~200 pages of Tolstoy's philosophy of History.

I'm reading The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze. It's 936 pages long, and because I got it by inter-library loan, it can only be renewed once, not the usual 3 times. So I started it before finishing The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy, which I'm still working on for April's War Room. (It's even longer, at 997 pages.)

>16 ArlieS: I'm putting The Napoleonic Wars: A Global on my Audible wishlist for the time being because of limited time this month. I'll see if I can squeeze a listen in to Napoleon at Peace today ... before Audible makes it no longer 'included'. And I'll add the audiobook Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World to my playlist ... just not sure my time will allow me to satisfy my appetite!

>8 booksaplenty1949: I would echo your recommendation of War and Peace, which I loved, but I can understand that there may be many who don't have the time to devote to such a long novel. >15 amanda4242: Yes, Tolstoy does spend a lot of time philosophizing about history, which may put some people off. But I was a history major and I really enjoyed reading his thoughts at the time I read the book.

I've got a set of Hornblower books which I have not yet read but would very much like to. I would like to start with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, which is chronologically first. However, does it fit the topic? It's apparently set during the French Revolutionary Wars rather than the Napoleonic Wars. Is that close enough to fit?

>7 PaulCranswick: >14 alcottacre: I read Jonathan Strange back before my LT days. I also thought the tv miniseries was really good.

>18 atozgrl: I see that several have included the French Revolution, which really isn't a part of the Napoleonic Wars. As this book takes place on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, that's close enough for me; but that's not the definitive answer! Hey, Paul!

I concur with you that War and Peace was a wonderful novel. History major here, also.

>18 atozgrl: It is as near as darned it.... so yes it can count, Irene.

>21 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, that helps! I've got several later books in the series which would fit better, but thought I should start with the earliest book going by chronological order. I doubt I can read more than one of them this month.

I managed to finish Napoleon at Peace by William Doyle yesterday, squeaking it in before Audible removed its availability (it's no longer included, and now one has to pay for it on that service). To the arguments in our heads as we read the above queries as to validity of reading French Revolution era work ... Napoleon at Peace is a wonderful "bridge" book. The author set out to demonstrate that Napoleon ended the French Revolution and its reign of terror through various actions both internationally (i.e., treaties to end various wars) and domestically (i.e., revamping the Gendarmes and the Law - although he doesn't get into the whole huge subject of the Napoleonic Code in any detail). It's important to realize Napoleon came to national prominence through his military actions during the ~decade of the Revolution, became First Consul, and then spent another decade trying to reign in the Revolution before declaring HE had ended it. This book also sought to explain motivations for both the wars and subsequent treaties bringing a cessation to the hostilities (often only briefly). So, yes, I'd argue that the Revolution and a book titled Napoleon at Peace both belong under the heading of "Napoleonic Wars".

Don't buy into Napoleon's own claim/PR that he alone ended/could have ended the Revolution ... it's easy to argue that it ended several years after he came to power because he kept it going (lots and lots of people dying) and that the ideas he used to end it didn't originate with him. He was just good at taking credit for good things and distancing himself from the bad. Rather obsessed with the mob's opinion, too!

Although this particular book hopped back and forth enough that I gave up trying to cement all the battles in my mind chronologically, the adversaries stayed the same: the British, the Austrians, the Bourbons ... and to my benefit (delight seems the wrong word after all), the Roman Catholic Church. Makes sense when you think about the mob going after the Aristocracy and the Church from the beginning of the Revolution. The unexpected prize with this book was its coverage of both Louis XVI's last years in captivity and Napoleon's own struggles with the Catholic Church as First Consul. The Church's ties to the Bourbons, Napoleon's own later strong-arming of the Pope(s), and the French peoples' own spirituality all played huge roles in not only the Revolution but in the shaping of the French Empire between the First and Second French Republics (1804-1848).

Lastly, I appreciated the quick review at the end of the book of Napoleon's attitude towards France's New World possessions. The Louisiana Purchase (Sale) really helped finance the government. Slave uprisings didn't receive his attention or were badly handled. Britain had captured many French holdings but then with Peace came the transfer of lands/islands back-and-forth. This all fit nicely with a book I'd read a couple months ago, Struggle for Sea Power: A Naval History of the American Revolution, in helping me see the Caribbean during this era more clearly. So the book was a good survey in many ways of non-battles: tactics weren't discussed as much as overall strategy and goals.

(Thanks again for suggesting these topics/themes - I'm always learning something/loads I didn't know previously.)

>23 PocheFamily: Definitely a book that I'm putting on my WL. I think I'll wait on it for awhile, maybe Audible will make it free again sometime. Good review!

Halfway through The Rover. Napoleon’s name has finally been mentioned. This was Conrad’s last finished novel. Apparently he became very interested in Napoleon in his later years, writing two novellas set during the Napoleonic wars and leaving a so-called “Napoleonic novel”—-Suspense—-unfinished at his death.

Finished The Rover. Admiral Nelson put in an appearance in the last chapter. Although the novel’s focus is on the characters: Peyrol, the “Rover” of the title, in a last sea-going exploit; Arlette, a Frenchwoman traumatised by childhood experience of The Terror, and Lieutenant Réal, the sailor who reawakens her humanity, the personal drama takes place during the “Long Blockade” of Toulon, during which Nelson goaded the French fleet to the eventual confrontation at Trafalgar. Of course I know that battle by name but have to say I knew nothing of its context or significance until I looked up the details to make sense of Conrad’s novel. So although the Napoleonic Wars were a backdrop to a novel mostly concerned with the meaning of selfhood and integrity I did enlarge my military knowledge.

I read Napoleon’s Escape from Elba: The History of the French Emperor’s Return from Exile and the Road to Waterloo (no touchstone) by Charles Rivers Editors

This was a very simplistic, yet very informative, overview of Napoleon's greatest battles, his exile to Elba, and his eventual escape. It did not cover the Battle of Waterloo. Somebody gave me a set of 10 Charles Rivers books on various historical topics and they are a good, quick overview. Although only 35 pages, I ended up purchasing 3 other books from topics glossed over in which I was interested. A few fun factoids:

Pre-Elba-Napoleon had trouble subduing the guerillas (first time this term used) in Spain. He was a good battle strategist for conventional armies, but could not read or anticipate the guerillas.

US Civil War--Battle of Bull Run--used one of Napoleon's battle strategies (not successful)

Others considered Napoleon such a good strategist that when his hat was observed on the battlefield it was said to be "worth 50,000 soliders." 3 stars

Next I think I'm on to Hardy's The Trumpet-Major of which several of you have given me "warnings."

I finished The Illustrious Dead by Stephan Talty yesterday. My thoughts on the book: I was disappointed in this one. Not because it is poorly written, because it isn't - it is good narrative nonfiction - but because the subtitle "The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon's Greatest Army" is misleading. Much of the book deals with Napoleon's invasion of Russia and the different battles along the way to Moscow. However, because of the book's subtitle I was expecting less about warfare and more about disease. Some of the things Talty included in the book were completely unnecessary, such as how the Russian peasantry tortured French soldiers, information I would gladly have continued to live without - how does it have anything to do with typhus?; Guardedly Recommended (3.5 stars)

Followed up The Rover with The Duel, a novella by Joseph Conrad which was the basis for Ridley Scott’s first “Napoleonic” movie, The Duellists. Many more battles referred to here, and a brief but vivid snapshot of the retreat from Moscow. And an uncharacteristically happy ending for a work by Conrad.

I finished Mr. Midshipman Hornblower tonight, and it was a lot of fun. I'll try to read some more Hornblower this month if I have time. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the Lieutenant Hornblower books, but I do have Captain Hornblower and will try to get to Beat to Quarters.

Watched The Duellists, the Ridley Scott movie based on The Duel. An excellent job of distilling Conrad’s novella. Particularly enjoyed the depiction of the Chevalier de Valmassigue, an aristocrat who became a shoemaker during the Revolution and, although restored to his aristocratic estate, continues to practise a profession he came to enjoy. Encapsulates the experience of radical social upheaval.

>1 PaulCranswick: I see the Sphinx here, which suggests to me this is Egypt, not Russia.

>32 booksaplenty1949: It's a metaphoric sphinx?

>32 booksaplenty1949: & >33 quondame: You are both right ladies!

I have lived in Egypt for a year about 35 years ago and can confirm that I never once saw snow there!

>34 PaulCranswick: https://www.artnet.com/artists/jerzy-kossak/napoleons-retreat-from-moscow-NTKWSU... Of course you’re correct, but I saw sand, not snow.

>35 booksaplenty1949: Ah ok! Yes, I can sort of see that.

Picked up Napoleon at Peace at the library today and have started to read. I know a fair bit about individual Napoleonic battles and have visited museums and battle sites associated with him but don’t have much sense of the arc of his career, despite sitting through Ridley Scott’s latest epic. Hoping that Doyle’s book will give me more context.

The Trumpet Major by Thomas Hardy. I am a Hardy fan, but this one has been my least favorite. It is also Hardy's only foray into historical fiction. The time period is the Napoleonic Wars and Weymouth is preparing for an invasion by Napoleonic forces. The story centers around Anne Garland, who is pursued by three suitors. We do see some action with Wellington during the Peninsular War and one of the suitors serves with Nelson at Trafalgar. Meh 3 stars 288 pages Paul's War Room: Napoleonic Wars

Generally regarded as part of a three-novel low ebb in Hardy’s career before his comeback with The Mayor of Casterbridge. Personally I hate all his novels about equally.

I am a Hardy fan, guess I won’t be reading this one though.

I finished reading The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo today. It is a wonderful book. I thought I knew a lot about this period and yet I managed to learn so many new (to me) facts and observations.

>41 annushka: Ow, you got me with a BB on that one. I wonder why I never heard of that book before now.

>41 annushka: That one is on my TBR shelf. Glad you liked it!

>42 atozgrl: This was a new to me book too!

>43 Tess_W: Hope you enjoy it!

Finished Sharpe's Command by Bernard Cornwell, his latest addition to the fictional soldier's "career". This story takes place in 1812, as Wellington prepares to move into Spain after removing the French from Portugal. A solid action-heavy entertaining read.

Just finishing Commodore Hornblower by C. S. Forester

Ships doing battle in the Baltic Sea, helping Russia hold off Napoleon. Good historic fiction.

Finished Napoleon at Peace. Only tangentially relevant, as the title would suggest, to the theme of Napoleonic Wars, and not particularly engaging for a general reader. I did get interested in the failure of the principle of “laicité” to catch on with the majority of the French population. Revolutionary hard-liners rightly perceived religious practice as a seed-bed for resistance to the Revolution, but attempts to suppress it merely entrenched this resistance. Napoleon himself seemed to blow hot and cold on the subject. The whole era one of mixed messages and conflicting agendas. Usually an environment which inspires worthwhile fiction.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” I know it’s not a novel about war, or even set during a war, but apropos of my last comment I have picked up A Tale of Two Cities, I think the only Dickens novel I have read only once. Apparently Dickens thought there was a message for his times in the events of the Terror.

>47 booksaplenty1949: Napoleon at Peace sounds potentially interesting to me, but the end of May is approaching, and I've only just finished the chunkster I selected for this month's challenge.

I recently finished The Napoleonic Wars : a global history by Alexander Mikaberidze

This is a very good, very detailed study of the Napoleonic Wars, with a little bit about other aspects of Napoleonic rule. It makes a point of covering more than just events in Europe. Given that I knew the European history better than the rest, the non-European coverage was most interesting to me.

It's also very much of a chunkster, weighing in at 936 numbered pages, along with xxiii pages of front matter (introduction etc.). I'm somewhat impressed with myself that I managed to finish it before the end of May.

I half wish I'd accumulated a group of overlapping books about the Napoleonic era, and read several; then I'd probably retain rather more of the contents of this one. But May is almost gone, and I'm already gathering books for the June episode of that challenge.

>53 ArlieS: Unlike the Napoleonic Wars, which after all involved most of Europe and extended to Egypt and the West Indies, the English Civil War doesn’t seem to have generated much quality fiction. A novel by Walter Scott, a novel by Daniel Defoe of which I have never previously heard, Children of the New Forest—-that’s about it, plus some contemporary bodice-rippers. What have you lined up?

Apropos of the West Indies, forgot to mention Explosion in a Cathedral as a work of fiction stemming from the French Revolution, specifically a French naval assault on Guadeloupe which had been occupied by the British in the chaos following the Revolution and the abolition of slavery. A very interesting novel about a part of history I knew nothing of.

>54 booksaplenty1949: I've gone for non-fiction rather than fiction, though FWIW I think I read and may have owned Children of the New Forest as a child.

Coming soon, about half via inter-library loan:

- Cromwell : Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser
- The King's Peace, 1637-1641 by C. V. Wedgwood
- A Freeborn People: Politics and the Nation in Seventeenth-Century England by David Underdown
- The English Civil War by Maurice Ashley
- Cavaliers and Roundheads: The English Civil War, 1642-1649 by Christopher Hibbert
- The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689 by Jonathan Healey

I don't expect to read all six - and it's really nine, since The King's Peace, 1637-1641 is the first of a 3 part series. But this gives me lots of choices.

Finished The Battle: a novel by Patrick Banbaud and enjoyed it. The Battle of Essling 1809 It was Napoleon's first major battle defeat as head of state and the major obstacle seems to have been the River Danube which was a raging torrent, almost breaking its banks. The bridges had all been destroyed by the Austrians when leaving Vienna and Napoleon's army had to cross using makeshift pontoons over to the island of Lobau and then again to the villages of Essling & Aspern. Very risky and did end up being the army's undoing.

THE WAR ROOM CHALLENGE for JUNE is up:

This month will feature the English Civil War.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/361198

I'm still reading my way through An Infamous Army, which is about forces ranged against Napoleon after he escaped from Elba. Currently, various military forces are gathering against him as Wellington joins the various British faction ranged in Brussels to be close to the fight. Being Heyer, there is some romance in the mix but there will be military action as well.

Took a little trip back to read Shaw’s play The Man of Destiny, a one act play about the young Napoleon set right after the Battle of Lodi. One of his Plays Pleasant. About the least Shavian subject imaginable, I would have thought, but quite neatly done.

I read The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss for the July Reading through Time challenge, and since it also fits here, I thought I would also count it here. Alex Dumas' military service may fit more in the French Revolutionary wars, but he did serve under Napoleon in Italy and Egypt, and Napoleon had a big influence on the last years of Dumas' life. Many thanks to >41 annushka: for bringing this book to my attention. I also learned a lot, and the story was fascinating.

I did look into reading a book on Napoleon, but my library does not have Napoleon by Alan Forrest. They do have Napoleon: a life, but that one turned out to be over 900 pages, and I don't feel like spending that much time on Napoleon right now.

>60 atozgrl: I'm glad you enjoyed the book! Isn't it amazing when you think you know a lot about a topic and then find a book that further elevates your understanding?

>61 annushka: Yes, it is, although the French Revolution is a period that I don't have a strong knowledge of, only a basic understanding. So I found The Black Count very helpful in learning more about the Revolution and about France's relations to its colonies. Not to mention the amazing story of the book's protagonist.