The Bonapartes The History of a Dynasty

by Smith, William H. C.

• ISBN13: 9781852855789
• ISBN10: 1852855789
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-20
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

In one of the ironies of history, the French Revolution led to the execution of Louis XVI and the abolition of the monarchy but also to the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. Born into an impoverished noble family in Ajaccio in Corsica, Napoleon's astonishing military career led him to crowning himself emperor and setting up a dynasty. Three of his brothers, Jerome, Joseph and Louis, became kings of French satellites, and, by divorcing Josephina and contacting a dynastic marriage with Marie-Louise, the daughter of the Austrian emperor, Napoleon himself staked his claim to be accepted by the other European monarchs. Following the military defeats that ended his empire, his own son, Napoleon II, died young and in exile, but the dynasty sprang back into power under his nephew, Louis Napoleon, who became Napoleon III. He also died in exile, after the defeat by Germany in 1870, while his only son, the Prince Imperial, was killed tragically in the Zulu War. The Bonapartes shows the lasting influence exercised by France's Fourth Dynasty.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	vii
Introduction	ix
The Founder	1	(18)
Towards a Dynasty	19	(18)
The Revolution Crowned	37	(18)
An Heir without a Throne	55	(24)
No Justice for Bonapartes in France	79	(20)
Hope Deferred	99	(20)
The Restoration	119	(22)
The Empire Restored	141	(20)
Triumph and Catastrophe	161	(24)
The Debacle	185	(20)
`The Prince is Down!'	205	(22)
Notes	227	(8)
Bibliography	235	(4)
Index	239