By itself, Napoleon's mid-1815 defeat at Waterloo, barely four months after he had escaped from Elba, was so dramatic that historians often neglect the events leading up to the climactic clash between insurgent French and Allied forces. In the engrossing chronicle at hand, however, Schom (Trafalgar, 1990, etc.) offers a detailed record of the so-called Hundred Days—a period roughly coinciding with Louis XVIII's absence from occupied Paris. Schom is also at pains to dispel any romantic notion that Napoleon was other than a self-absorbed despot whose vaulting ambition cost France dearly. Having landed near Cannes on March 1st, Napoleon moved north on the capital to reclaim his imperial throne. The military apart, precious few Frenchmen welcomed his return. Bled by more than a decade of constant conflict, the country yearned for peace. By the start of June, in fact, the usurper had been obliged to place cities throughout the nation under martial law, leaving him shy of troops to fight against the Anglo-European coalition massing for an invasion along the Belgian frontier. As Schom makes clear, though, Napoleon might well have prevailed in the three-day engagement at Waterloo had it not been for the battlefield insubordination of three senior commanders (marshals Grouch, Ney, and Soult). While the author does a splendid job of recounting the high and low points of Napoleon's second coming, his lively narrative's real power derives from the human-scale perspectives provided by incisive profiles of the emperor's friends, foes, and family. Schom includes finely etched portraits of, among other colorful characters, Klucher, Carnot, FouchÇ, Napoleon's four brothers, Talleyrand, and the Duke of Wellington. A master annalist's vivid reconstruction of a turning-point in world history. (Eight pages of illustrations—not seen.)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-12097-4
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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