Abstract
Reviewed by: Michael J. Hughes, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, USA
Several biographies of Napoleon have appeared during the bicentennial of the Napoleonic era. One of the features that distinguishes David A. Bell’s book is its length. Its narrative, including a preface, comprises 115 pages. The work’s brevity reflects Bell’s determination to provide an account of Napoleon’s life and significance that requires neither a substantial time commitment nor a familiarity with his historical era. Most biographies of Napoleon demand one or both.
Bell has written about Napoleon before. In 2007, he published The First Total War: Napoleon’s Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It. It is a valuable cultural history of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, and presents an analysis of Napoleon’s role in these conflicts. Bell employs parts of this analysis as well as information from other recent publications to tell his own updated version of Napoleon’s story.
The biography’s thesis is that innovations in politics and war that accompanied the French Revolution created a unique set of conditions that permitted Napoleon to become an extraordinarily successful general and the ruler of a new French empire. According to Bell, Napoleon possessed several talents. The most important of these, however, were his ability to recognize the changes that occurred in the final quarter of the eighteenth century and his skill at taking advantage of them. Bell claims that the French Revolution transformed politics by establishing equality in France, which allowed any man with ambition and the proper qualities to obtain power. It also replaced divine right with popular sovereignty as the source of political legitimacy. The Revolution’s crucial military developments consisted of France’s adoption of conscription to assemble armies of unprecedented size and the formation of a body of gifted new military leaders who deliberately fought battles to lead them to victory. Bell argues that Napoleon, who was one of these men, used allies such as Paul Barras and the fluid political environment in France to secure increasingly higher ranks in the French army. Napoleon’s ‘genius’ for war and the Revolution’s military innovations then gave him the tools that he needed to achieve his first major success during the siege of Toulon and to defeat the Austrians in his Italian campaign (26). This genius, Bell proposes, rested upon Napoleon’s exceptional physical endurance, a computer-like ability to retain and process information, and an aptitude for determining how to place his army in a position where it could destroy opposing military forces. Bell asserts that political strengths complemented Napoleon’s military brilliance. He explains that Napoleon continuously informed the French people about his accomplishments in Italy and elsewhere through propaganda in order to convince them that he was their saviour and to make a personal connection with them.
With the support that Napoleon obtained through these methods, some luck and various political intrigues, he managed to become France’s leader in 1799. Bell contends that as First Consul and as Emperor, Napoleon constructed an authoritarian state that was dedicated to the maintenance of equality under the law and a secure social order. Although achievements like the peace of Amiens and Napoleon’s manipulation of public opinion generated enthusiasm for his rule, the willingness of the French people to accept Napoleon as their Emperor depended on his ability to remain victorious. Unfortunately for him, final victory proved elusive during the Napoleonic wars. Bell maintains that Napoleon profited from the Revolution’s enhancement of France’s military capabilities to accomplish spectacular victories like Austerlitz. Yet, French naval weaknesses and defeat at Trafalgar prevented him from beating Britain. Consequently, Bell argues, the Napoleonic wars developed a momentum that was only halted with Napoleon’s downfall. Napoleon’s need to triumph over Britain fuelled French military expansion, which provoked new conflicts and added to his enemies. Moreover, armies, battles and wars grew so large that even Napoleon’s genius was incapable of directing them to achieve victory. In the end, Napoleon and his empire were buried under the avalanche of opponents that they created.
Bell concludes his book with an insightful analysis of Napoleon’s post-war impact, and an evaluation of the historical literature about him. In the second half of the biography, however, the military and diplomatic events of the Napoleonic wars take centre stage at the expense of other topics. This trend and the work’s succinctness may leave some readers wanting more. The book’s target audience though, is probably not scholars or devotees of the Napoleonic era who are interested in more detailed studies. It seems to be written for undergraduate students and professors who need books for their courses. For them, Bell’s biography is ideal. It is entertaining to read and discusses the important events and developments surrounding Napoleon’s reign. Bell’s book also provides a compelling interpretation that helps readers to understand Napoleon and his age in a format that its intended audience will consider appealing rather than overwhelming.