Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon
During the First Three Years of his Captivity on the Island of St. Helena

First published in 1844, these memoirs recount a child's friendship with the exiled Bonaparte on St Helena.

Elizabeth Balcombe Abell (Author)

9781108035408, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 November 2011

276 pages, 6 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.35 kg

After Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo (1815), the British government exiled him to the island of St Helena, where he forged a friendship with Betsy Balcombe (later Abell, 1802–71), the thirteen-year-old daughter of the government official in whose premises he stayed while Longwood House was being prepared as his residence. In these vivid memoirs, first published in 1844, Abell recalls her time spent with Napoleon, painting a portrait of a humorous and boyish character, of whom she was initially afraid, but then came to view as a friend and companion. Recounting his arrival, his opinions on music, wine and religion, his thoughts on his surrender and his battle tactics, his way of life, and his departure for his permanent incarceration at Longwood, Abell's recollections, which offer an unusual view of one of the most significant figures of modern history, have since inspired many documentaries, dramas and children's stories.

Preface
1. A slight description of the island
2. Alarm from Ladder Hill
3. View of the cavalcade going and returning from Longwood the day after Napoleon's landing at St. Helena
4. Napoleon's habits during his stay at the Briars
5. Napoleon's condescension in entering into and promoting the amusements of children
6. The Emperor's favourite retreat in the Briars' garden
7. The Sévres china
8. Our first dinner with the Emperor
9. The rage of the Emperor on being told he was to leave the Briars for Longwood
10. Our first visit to Napoleon at Longwood
11. Deadwood races
12. Ball at Deadwood
13. Anecdote of Lieut. C.
14. Anecdote of the Hon. G. C.
15. The legend of Friar's Valley
16. Arrival of 'the Conqueror'
17. Sir George Cockburn's Newfoundland dog
18. Napoleon's talent for mimicry
19. My questions to the Emperor respecting the atrocities imputed to him at Jaffa
20. Our farewell visit to the Emperor
21. Concluding chapter.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]