Napoleon in British Culture

This book studies British cultural engagement with Napoleon Bonaparte from his 1815 surrender and time in British custody, until the return of his remains to France in 1840. Adopting a chronological approach, James Gregory studies the British use of Bonaparte in various spheres - covering political, dramatic, literary, and visual culture, and popular entertainment over a 25-year period. Gregory acknowledges not only canonical literary treatments, but also appearances of the figure in novels, anecdotes, travelling shows, and private collections - in order to analyse contemporary fascination with Napoleon.Centring on key themes such as responses to Napoleon''s presence on British territory, and later reactions to his death, Gregory also takes into account the influence of factors such as geography and gender, in order to craft a comprehensive picture of cultural engagement with Napoleon in the period 1815-40. Covering factors including the role of commemoration, the impact of Peterloo and Queen Catherine''s death, and the rise of Romanticism, this book demonstrates how truly pervasive the myth of Napoleon became in 19th-century Britain.>

Auteur
James Gregory is Associate Professor of Modern British History at Plymouth University, UK. He is the author of Victorians and Vegetarians (2007), Reformers, Patrons and Philanthropists (2010), Victorians Against the Gallows (2011), The Poetry and the Politics (2014) and Libraries, Books and Collectors of Texts, 16001900 (2018).

Contenu

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Preliminary Essay on Primary Sources and Sites 2 Receiving, Depicting and Remembering Napoleon in Plymouth in 1815 3 Grieving for Napoleon? Early British Responses to Napoleon's Death in 1821 4 Napoleon Dying: British Likenesses and Relics from the 1820s 5 Napoleon and the British Reform Crises, c. 1829-33 6 Napoleon Breathing! The Effigy of Napoleon Exhibited, 1833-5 7 Making a Spectacle of Napoleon's Hat in 1830 8 The English Lives of Napoleon, 1821-40 9 Collectors of Napoleon Relics and Female Enthusiasts 10 The Return of Napoleon's Ashes in 1840 Coda: Victorians and Napoleons Notes Select Bibliography Index