The History of Napoleon Buonaparte

by John Gibson Lockhart

Originally published in 1829, John Gibson Lockhart's biography of one of the world's greatest military geniuses,endeavours to steer a middle course between diatribe and legend.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, France, Politics

821 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1829

About the author

John Gibson Lockhart was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of a biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott, which has been called the second most admirable in the English language, after Boswell's Life of Johnson.

Between 1818 and 1825 Lockhart worked indefatigably. In 1819 Peter's Letters to his Kinsfolk appeared, and in 1822 he edited Peter Motteux's edition of Don Quixote, to which he prefixed a life of Cervantes. Four novels followed: Valerius in 1821, Some Passages in the Life of Mr. Adam Blair, Minister of Gospel at Cross Meikle in 1822, Reginald Dalton in 1823 and Matthew Wald in 1824. But his strength did not lie in novel writing. In 1825 Lockhart accepted the editorship of the Quarterly Review, which had been in the hands of Sir John Taylor Coleridge since William Gifford's resignation in 1824. His major work was the Life of Sir Walter Scott (7 vols, 1837—1838; 2nd ed., 10 vols., 1839).

Reviews

[Lindsay]

A well written look at the fascinating life of Napoleon, something I previously only knew fragments of. Although written some time ago, it was clearly well researched and gives an idea of the scale of the Napoleonic wars.

[Milton McDonald]

Great biography, reminds me of the style of Plutarch.

[Beth Robinson]

This biography covered Napoleon's rise and fall. It focused most on the battles and the troop movements and generals that won or lost them. But it also included some speeches and letters and other material that was relevant to the political changes. The style is a bit different than today's biographies and the author's Englishness shows through occasionally, but overall it seems a factual accounting, not a highly slanted one. It was a decent read.

[Hugo]

Another mistake on my part. I don't know what it is with English writers(maybe because of the history with Napoleon)but they suck at this topic.

[Harshit]

An excellent yet sometimes too much of a detailed account of one of the greatest and popular conqueror.

[Wm]

Free e-book available from Amazon