The Secret War Against Napoleon: Britain's Assassination Plot on the French Emperor

by Tim Clayton

Between two assassination attempts—in 1800 and 1804—on Napoleon Bonaparte, the British government launched a propaganda campaign of unprecedented scope and intensity to persuade George III’s reluctant subjects to fight the Napoleonic War, a war to the death against one the Corsican usurper and tyrant. The Secret War Against Napoleon tells the story of the British government’s determination to destroy the French Emperor by any means possible. We have been taught to think of Napoleon as the aggressor—a man with an unquenchable thirst for war and glory— but what if this story masked the real that the British refusal to make peace, either with revolutionary France or with the man who claimed to personify the revolution, was the reason this epic conflict continued for more than twenty years? At this pivotal moment when it wanted to consolidate its place as the premier world power, Britain was uncompromising. This dynamic historical narrative plunges the reader into the hidden underworld of Georgian politics where, faced with the terrifying prospect of revolution, the British government used bribery and coercion in an effort to kill the French leader.

437 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2019

Reviews

[Pedro]

I read the kindle sample only. If you are interested in the Napoleonic period and, especially, the interplay with the British both militarily and on the espionage front then this is the book for you The research for the book is exhaustive, especially detailing all of the key players and their sometimes fluid allegiances. The amount of detail regarding how espionage helped target Napoleon for assassination is quite rich.

I read the sample to better understand how the British conducted the first covert operation in history since I found this somewhat dubious. I got bogged down in the details from the start and found it tedious. I may try reading the book in the future now knowing that it is a slow read but the book is near the bottom of my to read list.