Description
pp. 216, b/w illustrations, “The eccentric members of the Bonaparte family come to life once again with the help of Seward, a popular historian. Seward’s book is well written, and it avoids the prejudice that has been exhibited by other historians. While many of the stories Seward recounts are quite amusing, he also emphasizes the tragedies caused by these willful people, to whom Napoleon I (and later his nephew) seemingly could deny nothing. Much of the gossip included is unfamiliar, but Seward’s portraits of family members will be known to those who have read David Stacton’s The Bonapartes (1966), Theo Aronson’s The Golden Bees (1964), or R.F. Delderfield’s The Golden Millstones (1964), none of which is mentioned in Seward’s short bibliography. For general readers and informed laypersons.”