Skip to main content

Napoleon 15 Coronation

Plans to invade England . . . so many things have to be right . . . calm seas for flat bottom boats . . . eight hours of total darkness . . . favorable wind . . . luring English navy away from coast (highly unlikely)  N. hopes Irish will help French . . . while all this is going on, N. is reading scientific papers by physicists on heat conservation and writing letters to scientists . . .
Invasion plan is a bad one . . . once in England, how would he reinforce his troops or supply them. Admiral Nelson would cut him off from France:  Line about Napoleon, "master of Europe, and a prisoner in Europe" because of English maritime strength . . . plots against N. life . . . N. orders executions that are very unpopular throughout Europe . . . proclaimed Emperor . . . French who don't like the idea of an emperor do like the idea of France being an empire, so they go along with it. . . Napoleon puts the crown on his own head--daring, over-reaching probably, causes an uproar . . . but it is the epitome of the Enlightenment reemergence of class distinctions . . . belief that humans are motivated by awards and distinctions . . . After the coronation, Napoleon's mother says:  "Let's hope it lasts."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin . . . finished

 Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world.  Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way.  Plot is involved but sensible.  Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment.  The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview.  He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good.   Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child. 
Post a Comment
Read more

The Franchise Affair, Josephine Tey--opening pages

Blair, a lawyer in Milford, gets a strange call.  His practice is wills and similar--nothing criminal.  A woman tells him that Scotland Yard is accusing her of abduction and implores him to come out to help her, even if later on he passes the case to someone else.  The woman says she has called him because he is "her type," meaning respectable and conservative.  He agrees.
Post a Comment
Read more