Napoleon’s gardens range from his childhood olive groves in Corsica, to Josephine’s gardens and menageries in Paris, to gardens in Cairo, Rome and on Elba, to the walled garden of Hougoumont at the battle of Waterloo, and ultimately to Napoleon’s final garden on St. Helena, where Chinese labourers built him a summerhouse, where he could sit and scan the sea in his final months. During the French Revolution ideas about nature – human nature, the natural world and exchanges between the two – were at the centre of fierce political debates and events. In this lively and perceptive cultural history, Napoleon is placed firmly in this context: he wanted to see himself as a patron of the sciences and progress, bringing an end to the Revolution and binding up its wounds. In fact he unleashed an era of destruction and war, causing millions of deaths across Europe.

Author Scurr Ruth Published by Chatto & Windus ISBN 9781784741006 EAN 9781784741006 Bic Code Cover Hardback