A "colorful" novel about the fall of one of history's most notorious figures—and the defeat that would come to define him ( Publishers Weekly).It is 1814, and Napoleon Bonaparte retreats to Paris following the debacle of his Russian invasion. Once there, the leader is met with more resistance—a plot to restore a royal to the throne of France succeeds and a humiliated Napoleon is forced to abdicate and go into exile.Octave Senecal, Napoleon's loyal ...

From the author of The Battle: A novel that brings French history to life as Napoleon moves in on Russia—where the ultimate test awaits.The French army stands at the gates of Moscow. Exhausted and demoralized, Napoleon's men are a mere fraction of the four-hundred-thousand-strong force that crossed the river Niemen in the summer, just three months earlier. Still, the sight of this famous city feels like a triumph and a chance, at last, to enjoy a conqueror...

May 1809. Napoleon’s Grande Armée has taken Vienna and is preparing to cross the Danube, but the Austrians are waiting for him in Essling. The carnage can begin … Louis-François Lejeune, young colonel attached to the emperor’s staff, meets his old friend Henri Beyne in occupied Vienna. He also meets the beautiful Anna Krauss, with whom he is madly in love with. Nearby, though, Napoleon is attempting to crush the Austrian army, and organising the crossing of the Danube for his troops on a s...

After the sort of lightning-fast attack he is known for, Napoleon and his colossal Grande Armee have ridden deep into the heart of Russia. But the Russians have no intention of letting him have his way, and several bloody and inconclusive battles have already taken place – no Austerlitz there. So, when the French finally arrive in Moscow, they’re exhausted, starving, weakened, and fervently hoping they’ll get a chance to rest … and maybe even accept the Czar’s surrender ...

Moscow is now in French hands, but a large part of the city has burned down, and it’s been emptied of all food, fodder and warm clothes. Even as winter approaches, and against the advice of his generals, Napoleon insists on staying, convinced that the Czar will soon surrender to him. But both soldiers and civilians increasingly suffer from hunger and the cold, and the terrifying Cossacks constantly harry any troops sent out to forage for food …

The battle has been joined. On this first day, Massena desperately holds onto Aspern, the French cavalry charges again and again, but the Emperor cannot seem to break the Austrians. Louis-Francois, stuck on the wrong side of the only available bridge, impatiently waits for repairs to conclude. Not only are his official messages delayed, but he’s also dying to send news to Miss Krauss in Vienna. However, his friend Stendhal, who’s remained with the beautiful Austrian lady, makes some upsett...

The terrible Russian winter has engulfed the retreat, and the Grande Armée is no more. Mercilessly harassed by the fierce Cossacks, a few thousand men only continue to trudge forward, weak, starving, emaciated, leaving a trail of frozen dead behind. And as Russian regular forces prepare to surround and trap them, the weather suddenly turns warmer, making rivers impassable. To escape, they will have to somehow cross a river whose name would soon become synonymous with tragedy: the Berezina ...

Napoleon is furious. It appears the battle can no longer be won. The French cavalry is so exhausted it can’t even gallop when charging. Ammunition is running out, while losses mount horrifically – both in men and in irreplaceable officers … But the Austrians have paid an equally steep price, and a complete defeat may yet be avoided. Louis- François, Paradis, Fayolle … Who will survive the terrible bloodbath – the better to serve again in the next one?

Arthur Conan Doyle was a prolific writer of historical fiction with special interest and affection towards Napoleon's era. "The Great Shadow" takes place in the Napoleonic era on the English-Scottish border city called West Inch. It refers to the Napoleon's influence and his reputation that forms a shadow over West Inch. "Uncle Bernac" – Louis de Laval, a young French aristocrat in exile receives a mysterious invitation to join his uncle Bernac in France and enter into Napoleon's service. ...

Jean-Roch Coignet (1776-1865) was a French soldier who served in the military campaigns of the Consulate and First French Empire, up through the Battle of Waterloo.He later wrote his memoirs detailing his military service, The Notebooks of Captain Coignet, which are still being reprinted.

This book follows the adventures of Paris-born twins Pierre and Pierrette. It is set in the time of World War I France. The beginning of the story finds them attending school in one of the city's great cathedrals, and going home to their solitary mother each night. Things soon become a great deal more exciting, however, when the Germans bomb Paris and Papa returns to his family with a leg wound. After the hospital where he is recovering is bombed, the Twins and their parents leave Paris an...

**1870.**17-year-old apprentice bookbinder Étienne Bonin travels from revolutionary Lyon to even more revolutionary Paris seeking excitement and professional opportunity. By the spring of 1871 he is deeply committed to the insurrection for workers’ power, to a new lover — Rose Durand, 16-year-old coworker and budding feminist from Belleville—and to his new comrades. Together they experience festive celebrations, institutional innovations, military disasters and the final “week of blood.”