![]() Napoleon Bonaparteįor all his keen intelligence, Napoleon and his sycophants seemed unaware that times were changing. With only limited backing among the population, he had to contend with counter-rebels willing to challenge his return. However, this book is much more focused on the events Napoleon set in motion, even though he was unable to convince significant portions of the army and the populace to support him one more time. ![]() According to Schom, Napoleon’s megalomania, which led to so much horror and bloodshed across Europe, should make him an object of universal derision, yet many have and continue to admire him. Certainly, Napoleon’s theatrical return is appealing as a melodrama, even if one is uninterested in all the behind-the-scenes political machinations or even the battle that vanquished the emperor once and for all.Īlthough Schom may respect Napoleon’s military abilities, he is clear about his motives: “…Napoleon did not invade France on March 1 to save that country, but rather himself” (xii). When Napoleon set foot on French soil, he unleashed a furious chain of events that played themselves out in a little over 100 days. Schom relates the surreal story of Napoleon’s party being confronted at the water’s edge by a local health inspector who tried-but did not succeed-to place them under arrest. Their plan was to depose the king and install Napoleon as Emperor for the second time. In it, Schom describes how a group of aging generals and courtiers, including Napoleon himself, set sail from a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea in a makeshift “fleet” of ships for the coast of France. This line sets the tone for the dramatic events recounted in One Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Road to Waterloo. According to historian and biographer Alan Schom, “by December 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was simply bored stiff” (11). Napoleon Bonaparte, however, saw things quite differently from his exile on the tiny island of Elba. In February of 1815, France’s king, Louis XVIII, believed all was right with the world.
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