The Emperor's Shadow
Bonaparte, Betsy and the Balcombes of St Helena
$58.44
- Hardcover
464 pages
- Release Date
1 October 2015
Summary
After Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, he was sent into exile on St Helena, arriving in October 1815. For the six years until his death, he was an ‘eagle in a cage’, reduced from the most powerful figure in Europe to a prisoner on a rock in the South Atlantic. But the fallen emperor was charmed and entertained by Betsy Balcombe, the pretty teenage daughter of a local merchant.
Anne Whitehead brings to life Napoleon’s time on St Helena and the web of connections around …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781760113452 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 176011345X |
| Author: | Anne Whitehead |
| Publisher: | Allen & Unwin |
| Imprint: | Allen & Unwin |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 464 |
| Edition: | Main |
| Release Date: | 1 October 2015 |
| Weight: | 876g |
| Dimensions: | 41mm x 168mm x 243mm |
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Critics Review
Anne Whitehead deftly weaves a lively, poignant tale of Napoleon’s last years on St Helena and the precocious teenager whose impudent charm briefly enlivened his exile. Her indefatigable pursuit of a tantalising archival trail takes her readers from St Helena to England, Scotland, France and New South Wales, uncovering a life curiously shadowed by its early brush with fame. – Professor Penny Russell, University of Sydney, author of Savage or Civilised?
A fascinating exploration of the life journey of Betsy Balcombe Abell from St Helena to Sydney to London. This is a well-researched and readable history of the dramatic repercussions for an English family of its proximity to Napoleon in his final years on St Helena. – Professor Ann Curthoys, University of Sydney
St Helena: an exiled emperor in the garden pavilion and in the house a pretty flighty teenager. And therefrom spring some fascinating narratives, ending up, after a disastrous marriage to a stylish cad, in colonial New South Wales. – Marion Halligan, award-winning author of Shooting the Fox
Deftly woven… Whitehead’s history is thorough, possibly the best account of Betsy, interesting for what it tells us about the life of an ordinary woman. * Sydney Morning Herald *
The most meticulously researched version yet of Betsy’s incredible life… Remarkable. * Herald Sun *
Anne Whitehead
Anne Whitehead is an author, historian and former TV producer-director. Her previous books include Paradise Mislaid, winner of the 1998 NSW Premier’s Award for Australian History, and Bluestocking in Patagonia. She lives in Sydney.
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