THE GOLDEN MILLSTONES

Probably no command ever meant quite as much to Napoleon as the command of his family. And, the battles lost on the field did not hurt and frustrate him in the same way as those he continuously lost within the family circle. To his own career he tied these golden millstones -- Caroline and Elisa, whose taste for treachery he never fully grasped; Jerome and Pauline, whose affection for him was only surpassed by their venality and irresponsibility; Mr. Delderfield follows the careers of the seven siblings of Napoleon, all of whom he raised to royal rank but none of whom ever satisfied him, in or out of their kingdoms. The Golden Bees (1964, p. 638) covered the same subject. For those who complained of its heaviness of scholarly detail, this book is a popular second choice with neither footnotes nor bibliography. It makes good, gossipy reading.