1815 The Return of Napoleon: The Return of Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: Jean de l'Epee
Review: One of the most dramatic episodes of the Napoleonic period was Napoleon's breakout from his Elba by ship, landing in southern France, and marching on Paris. Army units sent to stop him, joined him instead. Hidden tricolor cockades, forbidden by the Bourbons, as were the hated ricolor flags and Napoleonic eagles, appeared from hiding places and again adorned the soldiers' shakos. Greeted enthusiastically wherever he went, Napoleon ended up in the Tuileries, Emperor of France once more. Not a shot had been fired, no blood had been shed. The Bourbons with their fat king, Louis 'the Unavoidable' had fled to Belgium.

Paul Britten Austin energetically and thoroughly presents these dramatic historic events in this new volume on 1815. In the same format as his trilogy on the 1812 campaign, the author weaves his tale of suspence, intrigue, bigger-than-life characters, mainly through first person accounts and demonstrates once again his great ability as an historian and a story teller.

This volume is the first in a two-volume series that will conclude with the rest of the stroy of the 100 Days of Napoleon's reestablished rule in France. I, for one, am looking forward to it. The present volume has set the stage, shown the characters, and whet the appetite. Unfortunately, it ends just when it is going full blast. However, it has set up the 'sequel' excellently, as well as given the readers a wealth of first hand information on the period, and the unforgettable characters that are the players in this greatest of historic dramas.

This excellent book is highly recommended. If a book on the Napoleonic period has the name Paul Britten Austen on it, buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Jean de l'Epee
Review: One of the most dramatic episodes of the Napoleonic period was Napoleon's breakout from his Elba by ship, landing in southern France, and marching on Paris. Army units sent to stop him, joined him instead. Hidden tricolor cockades, forbidden by the Bourbons, as were the hated ricolor flags and Napoleonic eagles, appeared from hiding places and again adorned the soldiers' shakos. Greeted enthusiastically wherever he went, Napoleon ended up in the Tuileries, Emperor of France once more. Not a shot had been fired, no blood had been shed. The Bourbons with their fat king, Louis 'the Unavoidable' had fled to Belgium.

Paul Britten Austin energetically and thoroughly presents these dramatic historic events in this new volume on 1815. In the same format as his trilogy on the 1812 campaign, the author weaves his tale of suspence, intrigue, bigger-than-life characters, mainly through first person accounts and demonstrates once again his great ability as an historian and a story teller.

This volume is the first in a two-volume series that will conclude with the rest of the stroy of the 100 Days of Napoleon's reestablished rule in France. I, for one, am looking forward to it. The present volume has set the stage, shown the characters, and whet the appetite. Unfortunately, it ends just when it is going full blast. However, it has set up the 'sequel' excellently, as well as given the readers a wealth of first hand information on the period, and the unforgettable characters that are the players in this greatest of historic dramas.

This excellent book is highly recommended. If a book on the Napoleonic period has the name Paul Britten Austen on it, buy it.

Rating:
Summary: The Human Story of the Hundred Days
Review: The story of Napoleon's Hundred Days is so dramatic, so full of romance that it is no wonder that authors keep returning to it. The latest entry in the library of books on the end of Napoleon's public career is Paul Britten Austin's "1815: The Return of Napoleon." Anyone familiar with Paul Britten Austin's previous trilogy on Napoleon's Russian campaign will know that Mr. Austin knows how to cull his sources for the interesting and informative anecdote and weave them together into a fascinating narrative. Austin uses the same technique here. Employing primarily French sources, he follows Napoleon's route from the Golfe Juan to Paris, ending with Napoleon's entrance into the French capital.

Like Mr. Austin's previous works, this is not analytical study of the military, political and diplomatic history of Napoleon's Hundred Days. Readers can easily get that elsewhere. Rather this is the human story of a great event, told by the Frenchmen who experienced it. We see the events through the eyes of the men and women who experienced them. Austin does a good job in his notes indicating trustworthiness of his witnesses. We hear from Royalists, Bonapartists and the fence-sitters. While we have occasional diversions to Paris or some of the other cities in France, Austin sticks closely to the Route Napoléon.

One theme of the book is how those who encountered Napoleon on his return from Elba interpreted their duty, honor and allegiance. Some stand by their oaths to the King, some swear allegiance to Napoleon, Many play a waiting game, doing little or nothing one way or the other.

The book hangs or falls ultimately on the author's choice of quotes from his sources. Austin, as expected, picks his passages well, keeping the narrative flowing with judicious selections from a multitude of characters. The book is filled with human interest stories, such as the story of Col. Jubé's various trials and tribulations at Grenoble that end in his tumble down a flight of stairs. Or that of Peyrusse, Napoleon's treasurer, and his chest of gold. Readers looking for in-depth military, political or diplomatic analysis should look elsewhere, but for the human story of this exciting time, this is a book you'll want to own.