Patrice Gueniffey. Bonaparte

Patrice Gueniffey’s hefty book is an outstanding work on the first thirty-three years of Napoleon Bonaparte, from his childhood in Corsica to his becoming Consul for Life in August 1802. The volume is beautifully written and at times reads like a novel. The French edition received considerable praise from reviewers and was awarded four prestigious awards in France. The translation into English by Steven Rendall is excellent. Bonaparte: 1769–1802 is divided into six parts, each covering a significant component of Bonaparte’s early life: the Corsican chapter (1769–1793), his career as a young officer in revolutionary France (1793–1796), the Italian campaign (1796–1797), the Near Eastern expedition (1798–1799), the coup of Brumaire (1799), and the First Consulate (1799–1802). Gueniffey bases his work on an extensive array of printed primary sources, including memoirs of contemporaries and the new edition of Napoleon’s correspondence, Correspondance générale, as well as a vast secondary literature. He accompanies his text with long citations by various historians and writings of contemporary figures. At times he engages in dialogues and debates with other historians, but he does not always specify who they are.

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