Research Catalog

Napoleon

Title
Napoleon / Geoffrey Ellis.
Author
Ellis, Geoffrey James.
Publication
London ; New York : Longman, 1997.

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TextRequest in advance DC203 .E4 1997Off-site

Details

Description
viii, 290 pages : maps; 22 cm.
Summary
  • The historiography on Napoleon rivals that of the French Revolution itself: his contemporaries and each generation since have endlessly reinterpreted the actions and motives of the man who so completely dominated his age. Geoffrey Ellis's eagerly awaited Profile examines our current understanding of Napoleon the man, and explores the hugely different responses he has provoked across the years.
  • What he provides is not a standard biography, or indeed a narrative account at all, but a thematic reappraisal of Napoleon's life and career. It illuminates not only Napoleon's personality and policies, and the nature and aims of Napoleonic imperialism; it also throws light on the very process of history-making itself.
  • The book covers old ground afresh, as well as new: for the first time since Pieter Geyl's celebrated study of 1949, Geoffrey Ellis reassesses all the "classic" themes of Napoleonic historiography in the light of the latest research into the political, military and social structures of the Consulate and Empire.
  • Approaching his subject through a series of key topics, he presents Napoleon as the focus of an essentially personalized system of power - a system which was progressively embroidered for projection to the public at the time, and which then helped generate the prolific Napoleonic legend after his final defeat in 1815.
Series Statement
Profiles in power
Uniform Title
Profiles in power (London, England)
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
  • Ch. 1. Introduction -- Ch. 2. Prelude to Power: The Formative Years, 1769-99. Napoleon's Youth and Education. Soldier of the Revolution. 'A Dazzling Fame'. From Egypt to Brumaire. The Fortunes of the Clan -- Ch. 3. The Elaboration of Power: Napoleonic Government. Republican Legacy and Imperial Vision. The Treatment of the Opposition. The Concordat. The Reorganization of French Finances. The Judicial System -- Ch. 4. The Territorial and Dynastic Extensions of Power: From Empire to 'Grand Empire'. Conquest, Annexation, and the Satellite States. The Grand Army. The Continental Blockade. Temporal Power versus Spiritual Authority -- Ch. 5. The Social Accretions of Power: The Imperial Notables, Nobility, and 'Spoils System'. The Revolutionary Land Settlement. The Notables. The Imperial Nobility. The 'Grand Empire' in Napoleon's 'Spoils System'. The Fate of the Old Nobility -- Ch. 6. Representations of Power, For and Against: Public Opinion, Education, and the Arts.
  • The Personalization of Power: The Visual Arts. The Press, Censorship, and State Propaganda. Education and the Higher Institutions of Learning. Literature -- Ch. 7. The Historiographical Images of Power. Napoleon on Napoleon. How Others Viewed Napoleon: The Early Writings. The Past Related to the Present. In Search of a Grand Theme -- Ch. 8. Conclusion: The Real Legacy.
ISBN
  • 0582025486 (cloth)
  • 0582025478 (pbk.)
LCCN
96026814
OCLC
ocm35008146
Owning Institutions
Columbia University Libraries