Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Various Authors on Napoleon Bonaparte

In Short

This volume serves as a central archival index uniting decades of historical scholarship, eyewitness memoirs, and military analysis surrounding the life and reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Spanning intimate accounts by his valet and private secretary to sweeping multi-volume histories by British and American scholars, it outlines the trajectory of the Napoleonic era. The text charts the collapse of the French monarchy, the dramatic Italian and Egyptian campaigns, the establishment of the Empire, the disastrous Russian invasion of 1812, and Napoleon's ultimate downfall. It endures as an essential reference mapping the vast literature of a transformative epoch.

The Story

The collective arc documented within these indexed volumes traces the extraordinary transformation of European politics through the career of a single military commander. The history opens amid the decay of the ancient French monarchy and the structural chaos of the French Revolution. From these turbulent origins, a young Corsican artillery officer rises to prominence during the siege of Toulon and the suppression of Parisian uprisings. Appointed to lead the Army of Italy, he revolutionizes warfare through swift maneuvers and decisive victories against Austrian forces, forcing a series of continental capitulations.

Seeking to sever British trade routes to India, the narrative moves to the Egyptian expedition, marked by naval disaster at Aboukir and grueling campaigns in the desert. Returning to Paris amid political instablity, Bonaparte executes the coup of the 18th Brumaire, dismantling the Directory to establish himself as First Consul. In this peacetime interval, he consolidates domestic power, instituting the Code Napoleon, reorganizing public finances, and restoring religious order through the Concordat.

This administrative respite quickly yields to grand imperial ambition. Crowned Emperor of the French, Napoleon engages the Third Coalition, achieving tactical masterstrokes at Austerlitz, Jena, and Wagram. Imperial expansion brings systemic friction: the enforcement of the Continental System against Great Britain leads to protracted military entanglements in Spain and mounting hostility with the Russian Empire.

The narrative reaches its catastrophic turning point in the campaign of 1812. Assembling a massive multinational army, Napoleon crosses the Niemen and marches deep into Russian territory. Despite reaching Moscow after the bloody clash at Borodino, he finds the city abandoned and set ablaze. Deprived of a formal surrender, the Grande Armée begins a devastating retreat through winter snows, harried by Cossacks and decimated by starvation and extreme cold.

The collapse in Russia shatters the illusion of imperial invincibility. A newly unified European coalition presses into France, forcing Napoleon’s abdication in 1814 and initial exile to Elba. A dramatic escape leads to the Hundred Days and a final, desperate attempt to reclaim power, which abruptly terminates on the field of Waterloo. The saga concludes with his surrender to British custody, prolonged exile on the remote island of St. Helena, and his eventual death, followed decades later by the formal return of his ashes to Paris.

How It Unfolds

The revolution erupts The social structure of monarchical France collapses under financial ruin and political unrest, creating the volatile vacuum that enables a young Corsican officer to gain his initial military commands.

Victories in Italy and Egypt Rapid tactical triumphs across Northern Italy establish Napoleon's reputation as a military genius, followed by an ambitious expedition to Egypt designed to disrupt British imperial trade networks.

Seizure of state power Returning to a unstable Paris, Napoleon overthrows the Directory during the 18th Brumaire, appointing himself First Consul and establishing a centralized civil administration alongside the legal Code Napoleon.

The height of empire Crowned Emperor of the French, Napoleon defeats rival European coalitions in stunning engagements at Austerlitz and Jena, reshaping continental borders and placing relatives upon foreign thrones.

The Russian disaster The invasion of Russia ends in tragedy as the Grande Armée enters a burning Moscow, followed by a harrowing winter retreat marked by freezing temperatures, starvation, and total military collapse.

Fall and final exile Pressed by a united European alliance, Napoleon abdicates to Elba, briefly escapes during the Hundred Days, suffers total defeat at Waterloo, and spends his final years imprisoned on St. Helena.

The People

• Napoleon Bonaparte: A Corsican-born artillery officer who maneuvers through revolutionary chaos to become Consul and Emperor of France. Driven by military ambition and administrative zeal, he seeks to dominate continental Europe before overextending his power in Russia and ending his life in isolated exile.
• Josephine de Beauharnais: An influential society figure who becomes Napoleon’s first wife and Empress of the French. She offers vital political connections and personal charm during his early rise, though their inability to produce an heir leads to a reluctant political divorce.
• Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne: Napoleon's early schoolmate and private secretary, who records intimate observations of the Emperor's daily work habits, political calculations, and personal character during the rise of the Consulate.
• Constant (Louis Constant Wairy): The Premier Valet de Chambre to the Emperor, who provides detailed accounts of domestic life within the imperial court, documenting Napoleon's private routines, personal quirks, and domestic surroundings.
• Alexander I of Russia: The Tsar of Russia whose complex diplomatic relationship with Napoleon degrades from temporary alliance at Tilsit into total warfare, ultimately adopting a scorched-earth strategy that destroys the invading French army.

In Its Own Voice

"The Clergy unite with the Tiers Etat, which assumes the title of the National Assembly—They assume the task of Legislation, and declare all former Fiscal Regulations illegal"

Sir Walter Scott details the pivotal political shift during the early French Revolution as the commoners sweep away old monarchical structures to seize legislative authority.

"Dreadful storm and its fatal effects—Melancholy catastrophe—Napoleon's arrival at Wilna"

General Count Philip de Ségur captures the immediate, ill-omened atmospheric chaos and human toll that plagued the French forces the moment they crossed into Russian territory.

"Crossing the Berezina... Marshal Ney Supporting the Rear-guard during the Retreat from Moscow"

Edward Foord's detailed table of contents highlights the desperate military stands made by French commanders as they attempted to save remnants of the army from total destruction.

What It's Really About

At its core, this comprehensive index maps the tension between revolutionary ideals and unchecked autocratic ambition. The underlying historical works debate whether Napoleon saved the French Revolution by codifying its civil liberties and restructuring state institutions, or betrayed it by crowning himself Emperor and plunging Europe into continuous war. The collection systematically contrasts the grand strategy of geopolitical maneuvering with the raw human reality of warfare—showing how abstract imperial policy directly translates into burning cities, frozen retreats, and massive casualties. It poses fundamental questions about historical determinism, asking whether single individuals truly drive the fate of nations or merely ride the irresistible historical currents of their era.

Why Read It Today

This work serves as a foundational roadmap for historians, researchers, and devoted readers of European history. Rather than presenting a single narrative voice, it offers an organized gateway to diverse contemporary perspectives, ranging from Napoleon's personal valet and battlefield generals to prominent 19th-century historians like Sir Walter Scott. Reading through its vast structural outline provides an unfiltered sense of how the Napoleonic legend was constructed, analyzed, and debated across different nations and eras.

The primary difficulty lies in its nature as an exhaustive reference index and compilation of tables of contents, lacking a single continuous narrative prose style. It features archaic terminology, dense bibliographic listings, and period-specific spellings of historical figures and locations. However, for those fascinated by military history, statecraft, or the mechanics of archival documentation, it offers an incredible bird's-eye view of the sheer scale of literature dedicated to one of history's most compelling figures. It remains an invaluable structural guide to understanding the full scope of the Napoleonic era.