Description
Book SynopsisNapoleon arrived on St Helena in October 1815 aboard the British 74-gun warship HMS Northumberland. For the first six weeks he stayed at the Briars, a property in the Upper Jamestown Valley where he enjoyed the hospitality of the Balcombe family. By the end of December, the re-building work on his destined home, Longwood, was completed, and Napoleon accompanied by his entourage moved there, much to Napoleon's annoyance. He found the site bleak, inhospitable, and considered it conducive to rheumatism. The British Government was paranoid about Napoleon being rescued and maintained a large military presence on the island, and numerous warships anchored offshore. This paranoia extended to the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. He ran a typrannical and petty campaign against the residents at Longwood and had violent arguments with Napoleon, who refused to cooperate with him. This book is one of the best accounts of Napoleon's five-and-a-half years' imprisonment, which ended with his death from a stomach ulcer. It details all of the personalities, Napoleon's household, the domestic arrangements, the island residents, the military residents and the long-standing feud between Plantation House and Longwood. It also covers Betsy Balcombe, the Deadwood Races, Napoleon's habits and his garden and much, much more. The book has eighty colour and black & white illustrations.
Table of ContentsIntroduction to the 2013 Edition Acknowledgments Foreword 1 An Emperor's Island-Prison 2 The Exile's Arrival 3 At the Balcombes' 4 A New Napoleon Bonaparte 5 Prison Society 6 Betsy and the Emperor 7 Admiral Cockburn - a Kind Jailer 8 Ghosts 9 The Friends are Separated 10 Longwood Prison 11 The General and his Jailer 12 The Malcolms 13 Nostalgia 14 The Elusive Prisoner 15 Deadwood Races 16 Regimented Social Life 17 The King of Rome 18 The Deportation of Las Cases 19 Betsy and the Ensign 20 The Emperor's Decline 21 The Balcombes Leave St Helena 22 The Suite at Longwood 23 'Sighting' the Emperor 24 Exiles in England 25 Napoleon's Last Phase 26 The Emperor's Death 27 Obsequies - 1821 and 1840 28 Present-day St Helena Residents and Visitors on St Helena Bibliography Index
