Essay Topic:

The revelation of the personality of Napoleon by Felix Markham.

Essay Questions:

Why was Markham so inspired by Napoleon?

What were the most prominent character traits of the “Corsican Ogre”?

Why was Napoleon send on an exile to St. Helena’s island?

Thesis Statement:

“Napoleon” was written to show people the biography of a strong man, to show that there is more about Napoleon that we can ever learn.

Napoleon by Felix Markham Essay

 

"He is the sort of man of whom nature is sparing and who only appears on earth at intervals of centuries…"

Introduction: Markham’s “Napoleon” is a book that was written with a great inspiration. It’s definitely a book to enjoy! In such a small book Markham managed to show not only the life of the “Corsican Ogre” but even his personality. Though this book is rather broad than deep because of its size in the first place, it still gives us a lot of details and covers a lot of aspects of Napoleon’s life.The way Markham describes everything in the book amazes, it’s like you can see everything Napoleon saw with you very own eyes. You can follow Napoleon along his rise to power, during the battles, observe him as a politician, ect. It is a book that shows a life of a great man and his way from being a magnificent Emperor to an exile to St. Helena’s island. “Napoleon” was written to show people the biography of a strong man, to show that there is more about Napoleon that we can ever learn.

Markham shows Napoleon as a mystery-man. Napoleon’s ideas were too innovative for that time. He seems to be a man from another time. Markham’s sympathy to Napoleon is easily seen through out the book though sometimes he does criticize him. Markham’s point is in making sure that people understand how much Napoleon’s personality influenced history and France in the first place. Napoleon is controversial and it must be this that makes him of so much interest for us and history in general. And what does demand more strength – to be able to go through everything or to keep your head up, even being an exile?Markham doesn’t depict just the biography of an outstanding man, he shows us a legend. A legend that affected a lot of generations and will continue affecting people. It’s not about just Napoleon anymore its about an image of strength we all have inside our heads. Though I suppose some biographical facts are questionable, Markham really managed to show the personality of Napoleon. I can’t call it a real biography book and I assume it wasn’t the real goal of the author, but it definitely is a splendid book about Napoleon’s life.

Conclusion: Markham broke a lot of myths connected with Napoleon, tried to open his inner world for us and gave a cross light of Napoleon’s influence. What we see in Markham’s book is a man, a real mortal man, but it is one of those men who change history; who by their own existence give faith to other people. I certainly think this book is a real success of its author though I can’t call it successful in the meaning of not really being a biography. Felix Markham did a great job discovering Napoleon’s genealogy, telling about battles, describing places, ect, but the best thing about his book is that it is about the meaning of the being of this man for his descendants. This book is a little door to the world of Napoleon!

 

Bibliography:

Markham. Felix- “Napoleon” (New American Library\ Jan. 1988)