The Napoleonic Quarterly

To be honest this episode is just as much in praise of The Lubber's Hole, a brilliant project working its way through the Aubrey-Maturin novels of the unparallelled Patrick O'Brian. It's my favourite and most-listened-to podcast, and so the opportunity to talk to one half of the Lubber's Hole, Ian Bradley, naturally descended into fan enthusings within minutes. I shall not apologis...

Could Andrew Roberts' in-depth look at Napoleon's HR issues with those pesky marshals have prompted a bit of a rethink? With his new book Napoleon And His Marshals, Lord Roberts certainly has a fascinating new perspective moving things on from his 2014 biography Napoleon The Great. Whereas the emphasis had previously been on Napoleon's intellectual brilliance, administrative achievemen...

Bernie Campbell is joined by Alexander Mikaberidze and Rachel Blackman-Rogers to get their picks of the best books about one of the Napoleonic Wars' most consequential years. Covering all the angles of both the year's big campaign on the European continent, and the year's big campaign on the high seas: what book will change how you think about Trafalgar? Which are the best biographies...

1805. January... February... March... three months in which British telescopes looking out across the English Channel are trained on the north French coast... the Royal Navy waits in suspense for Frace's emperor to make his move... and the Italian republic is getting a new king - guess who. This is episode 52 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months of invasion tension. [07:40] - he...

With the relaunch period drawing to a close the time is now upon us, finally, when this podcast about the Napoleonic period actually gets to talk actually properly about the actual Napoleonic Wars. In one final build-up episode before episode 53 dives into Q1-1805, here's a last chance for Charles Esdaile and Alex Mikaberidze to consider the entirety of the 1805-15 period as a whole to answer...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1804 - the year in which France gets an emperor once again, and Europe gets an imperial-sized problem. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our un...

It is with a mixture of great embarrassment at my own over-acting and guilt at such outrageous self-indulgence that I, Alex Stevenson, presenter of the Napoleonic Quarterly, provide you, the poor suffering listeners, with an outpouring of thespian histrionics: the concluding episode of our screenplay-concocting relaunch side-project, the Napoleon Movie Quarter-Hourly. In this episode Ben Deery, wh...

This mini-episode unveils the end product from our Napoleon movie discussions: an actual first draft of a screenplay which tells the story of Bonaparte's rise to power. It's now available on Patreon , for the consideration of our esteemed Quartermasters. In the meantime, first James Topham and then Alex Stevenson offer their own versions of what the treatment actually looks like. With Ben...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1803 - a year in which peace between France and Britain collapses, and the cause of Haitian independence is finally realised. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1802 - a year in which the French mission to recapture Saint-Domingue combines deception and brutality as the stakes grow ever higher. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help f...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1801 - a year in which Britain and France make peace, despite a widening canvas of war spreading across from Europe across the globe. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help fr...

In the eighth and final 15 minutes of our screenplay treatment, Napoleon really is trying to get this one last job done by completing the Brumaire coup. But his bid for his ultimate goal requires an unexpected sacrifice and is dependent on an essential contribution from his now thoroughly beloved Josephine. With a new framing device underlining the crucial role of Paul Barras in this story as the...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1800 - a year in which Napoleon Bonaparte achieves one of his greatest victories to consolidate his new position of power in France. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help fra...

In the seventh and penultimate 15 minutes of our screenplay treatment, Napoleon is back in France to go for the top prize - power. But his bid for his ultimate goal is not going to be straightforward and he has to accept that in order to achieve this, he'll have to put aside romantic dreams and do what matters to get this one last job done. That means a new approach to his unfaithful wife Jose...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1799 - a year in which Napoleon Bonaparte achieves an astonishing turnaround in fortunes which ends with him in power. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period...

In the sixth 15-minute section of our screenplay, Napoleon plunges into his darkest hour. Reeling from betrayal and defeat, he confronts the plague-ridden horrors of his campaign in the Levant and faces the brutal consequences of war, both on the battlefield and within himself. The myth of his invincibility shatters as failed sieges and the massacre at Jaffa weigh on his conscience. Josephine’s in...

Charles Esdaile has a lot to get off his chest when it comes to the Battle of Waterloo - which is why he surprised me recently by asking to do what turned into a three-hour mythbusting session working through what he thinks everyone's getting wrong about the ultimate Napoleonic encounter. As this podcast won't be making it to Waterloo for years and years - we're talking the 2030s here,...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1798 - a year in which Napoleon Bonaparte leads an astonishingly bold expedition to capture Egypt for France, which is going astonishingly badly by the end of the year. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four...

In the fifth 15-minute section of our screenplay, Napoleon’s journey takes a sharp, downward turn. Success is replaced by mounting setbacks as our hero heads to Egypt - an ambiguous mission that isolates him from power and allies. The Directory’s antagonism grows ever more apparent, Josephine’s betrayals come to light, and disaster strikes in the form of Nelson’s fleet. As loyalty in his own ranks...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1797 - a year in which Napoleon Bonaparte continues to confound western Europe amidst the continuing churning turmoil of French revolutionary politics. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which,...

In the fourth 15-minute section of our movie screenplay we move towards the midpoint, the critical moment where accumulating consequences for our hero Napoleon Bonaparte make him realise his military successes represent a false hope. He's going to have to rethink - and we need to set out in this section of the film why that's the case. In episode four of our screenwriting escapade we conti...

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, has reached 1796 - a year in which the rockstar general Napoleon Bonaparte writes his own script. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it...

In the first 15 minutes of Act 2 of our putative Napoleon movie, we get into "the promise of the premise"—delivering the kind of content audiences expect from a Napoleon film: military campaigns, political maneuveures, personal intrigue... as well as some further development of the love story with Josephine and Napoleon's antagonist Paul Barras; and, above all, the idea of mythmaking...

This is the fourth in our series of recap episodes, offering a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it in a whole new way. We hope this will provide a helpful refresh for l...

In minutes 15-30 of our screenplay treatment our protagonist Bonaparte has his refusal of the call moment, the love story gets going, the gang gets together, and then it all builds to the end of Act 1 when Napoleon crosses the threshold - and the bridge of Lodi - at the same time. This is really the episode when this project properly gets going - and our hero begins to narrow the gap between his s...