Chronicles of the First Empire

A view of the Napoleonic epoch by the Imperial Guard's historian



The French author of this interesting book, Emile Marco de Sainte-Hilaire was a well known writer of novels and anecdotal history during the early nineteenth century. There can be no doubt that his writings on the age of Napoleon are of value to students of the period, even though the authenticity of his words have been called into question. Sainte-Hilaire was born in 1796 in Versailles, so he lived through the Napoleonic age and knew enough about it personally and through his connections with its most significant personalities to add credibility, if not irrefutable provenance, to writings that are fascinating as insights into the activities of the emperor-and those closest to him-in domestic and military life. There can be no doubt that Sainte-Hilaire's most significant work was his history of the Imperial Guard of the Napoleonic period first published in 1847. What makes this Leonaur edition of the Sainte-Hilaire perspective of the Napoleonic epoch unique is the inclusion of many of the uniform line drawings from his outstanding Imperial Guard history which have been employed here to illuminate the text.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.