October- December Quarterly: The Napoleonic Era

The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (9 November 1799 – 28 June 1815).

Wikipedia: List of battles, countries affected, etc : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_era

A Napoleonic timeline: https://content.lib.washington.edu/napoleonweb/timeline.html'

Update the wiki here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Quarterly_Theme_Rea...

I am planning on reading The Second Empress by Michelle Moran next month. This historical fiction book is about Marie Louise, the Austrian Archducess who became Napoleon's second wife.

Does this have to be about Napoleon? Or is it sufficient just to have been written and published in the Napoleonic era? If the latter, then Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma would qualify. (I really don't like Jane Austen, but I've been meaning to give her a reread one of these lifetimes.)

Alternatively, I can do Les Misérables. I've got Julie Rose's unabridged Modern Library translation. I've already read War and Peace in the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation.

Incidentally, a couple works that might get overlooked are Elizabeth Gaskell's Sylvia's Lovers and Thomas Hardy's The Dynasts.

• Sylvia's Lovers as a story isn't all that credible and it's far from Gaskell at her best, but it's got some really interesting portrayals of village life as well as a really good portrayal of naval press gangs.
• Thomas Hardy's The Dynasts is an unproducible "closet drama"; but it's a lot better than it sometimes gets credit for if you take it slowly, just an act or two a day, and the scene "The Road to Waterloo" is a great anti-war poem. Also, the choruses of the spirits give a background in Hardy's philosophy of fate for a novel like Tess.

>3 CurrerBell: Oooh, thanks for this...I've got Sylvia's Lovers all set to read before the end of the year, so that would fit in perfectly.

As for Austen, Persuasion, although published in 1817, is set in 1814-15, and the plot is driven by Captain Wentworth arriving back in England at the end of the Wars. There is much naval discussion with fellow officers Admiral Croft, Captain Harville and James Benwick.

I've got too many books on my shelves to make up my mind...

oops, wrong theme!

>3 CurrerBell: No it does not have to be about Napoleon. Anything set in this time frame works.

Last year I purchased audiobooks of Austen’s novels, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, and have three left to listen to. I am starting with Persuasion for this theme and may also listen to Emma or Pride and Prejudice.

>8 dianelouise100: I own that set and it is wonderful! Stevenson does such a amazing job, especially with Persuasion, where she gets a certain melancholy tone. Northanger Abbey has a whimsical tone to it. She also does a wonderful job in Emma, with the voices of Mr. Woodhouse and Mrs Elton. In my set, however, Stevenson doesn't read P&P--it is read by Emilia Fox, who does a good job. Fox played Georgiana in the 1995 P&P (Firth/Ehle).
My set also has a great version of Lady Susan, read by different readers for each of the letter writers in the book. All the readers were unknown to me, but they were all excellent. That set was a major splurge for me at the time, but I have listened over and over again, and am so glad I took the plunge.

>9 kac522: I know I will listen to these again and again too. With some writers, especially 19th century writers for me, the writing is so good that hearing it well read can really increase the pleasure of the experience.

>9 kac522: oh loved lady susan! Never heard of it until the film version came out called "Love and Friendship' in 2016, with Kate Beckinsale. Oh my gawd we laughed from beginning to end. Took me a while to find the book and it was just as good!

Waverley came out in 1814 although it is about 1745. Not sure if that counts.

Alternatively if one is to stay with Scott, St. Ronan's Well is set "some twenty years" before its publication date of 1823 (although it had been argues that it fits better with a timeframe between 1809 and 1812 (aka the middle of the Peninsular War) but either of these evaluations would put it in the correct time frame.

>8 dianelouise100: For any Austen reading I'll be using paper but also combining the reading with The Life and Works of Jane Austen, a "Great Courses" video.

As a subscriber to "The Great Courses Plus," now "Wondrium," at $30 quarterly, I can view it online without paying anything beyond my regular quarterly subscription price. To buy a DVD on "The Great Courses" you'd shell out over 250 bucks unless it's selling on an occasional discount.

I've watched a number of those videos as a $30/quarter subscriber and really gotten my money's worth!

>10 dianelouise100: I also think that some writers, Austen and Dickens especially, were meant to be read aloud. Austen read her books aloud to her family prior to publication and Dickens was famous for performing parts from his books before audiences. It was fairly common in the 19th century for a family to gather together and have one person read aloud to the rest. So I think audiobooks for these authors are particularly appropriate.

I will be reading The Second Empress by Michelle Moran. Can't wait to start it.

I am also thinking of reading/listening to Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley, first published in 1849, but set during the right period.

>16 dianelouise100: Usually considered among the weaker Brontë novels, but personally I like it better than anything but Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Highly autobiographical, with even an appearance by Emily's dog Keeper (in the character of "Tartar").

One of my favorite opening lines in a novel:

Of late years an abundant shower of curates has fallen upon the north of England: they lie very thick on the hills; every parish has one or more of them; they are young enough to be very active, and ought to be doing a great deal of good.

I conjure up an image of these curates descending like a Biblical locust plague (cadging free meals!). There's satire not just of Charlotte's own CofE clergy but also of the dissenters. It's humorous, though, not nasty as the Villette satire can sometimes be, and at least some of the local curates seem to have gotten a kick out of seeing themselves portrayed.

One of Charlotte's two BFFs, Mary Taylor (who had encouraged Charlotte to go to Brussels), is portrayed in the character of "Rose Yorke." Emily, of course, is "Shirley Keeldar" while Anne (not Charlotte) is "Caroline Helstone." Those who are familiar with Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South might remember that Rev. Hale's parsonage was located in the village of Helstone (one of a few novelistic references Gaskell made to her friend Charlotte).

>17 CurrerBell: Thank you! What you’ve said makes me think I’ll enjoy it very much.

I completed early The Second Empress by Michelle Moran. This was the historical fiction account of Marie's marriage to Napoleon and her life with (and without) him until his death on the island of St. Helena. Good info and Napoleon's sister, Paulene.

I finished listening to Austen’s Persuasion, read so beautifully by Juliet Stevenson. What a treat! I’m still waiting for the copy of Shirley to arrive.

>20 dianelouise100: Isn't that audiobook the best? So glad you enjoyed it. It's been my "comfort" listen all through the pandemic.

>21 kac522: Stevenson is truly a gifted narrator and makes me remember being read to as a child. My first experience with one of her audiobooks was Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. I was recovering from a broken ankle and that was a “comfort” listen for me.

We are starting to make plans for 2022. You can join in here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/335727#

Why am I even thinking on what I want to read for this era when I have the whole Aubrey–Maturin series waiting for me... :) Some days my brain shortcuts spectacularly...

I have finished my read of The Second Empress by Michelle Moran. It covers the last years of Napoleon's reign, and while it isn't totally factual, I found this a light and enjoyable read.

I'm wondering, would Les Miserables fit in here? As I understand it, it may be more post-Napoleonic, but apparently it includes a very lengthy digression on Waterloo. It's been forever that I've been wanting to work my way through Julie Rose's unabridged translation. Or would it be better to hold it until the first quarter of next year?

I've also got Castlereagh: A Life by John Bew, that I've been meaning to get to for ages.

>26 CurrerBell: It will be a nice bridge to the next period - it technically starts in October 1815 but there are all these chapters on Waterloo and its place in history. So you can even count it in both ;) I've been thinking of it for early next year.

I published an historical romance novel that follows the Napoleon War through the life of a true Spanish heroine, Agustina de Aragón. She fought fiercely against Napoleon, first as a civilian, then as a guerilla before being the first woman soldier in the Spanish Army, supported and praised by British leader, General Wellington.

Dont overlook Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. I suggested Master and Commander, the first in the series to my wife, telling her not to be put off by the bellicose covers. Within a few weeks she had read all 21, and then went back to listen to them! Yes, the general background is the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars and there are some short battle scenes. But the core of the book is the engaging relationship between Captain Jack Aubrey and his surgeon, Stephen Maturin, and the relationships the two of them have with their wives/lovers, who by nature of their profession they only see occasionally.

My husband was also a huge fan of Master and Commander and went on to read the rest.

>29 scunliffe: Yep - as I finally remembered up in >24 AnnieMod:. :)

>29 scunliffe: The Aubrey/Maturin series is my favorite historical series.

>31 AnnieMod: ha, yes, I missed that post or I would have given you credit!

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell

Most of this novel takes place around the turn of the century (18th-19th) in Nagasaki, where the Dutch are trying to maintain a once lucrative trading relationship with Japan. The wars in Europe are referenced and actually come into the story directly when the captain of an English ship, trying to take over the Japanese trade from the Dutch, attacks the trading post. Cultural differences provide the main source of conflict, however, and I particularly like that Mitchell gives a sympathetic view of both cultures. I enjoyed this book very much.

I was shocked by the unveiling of the Japanse camps, a precursor to the ones set up in China when they invaded in WWII. Ultimately I liked the book; I had some history of Japan, but knew next to nothing about this trade center. As usual, Mitchel does an excellent job of picking up all the nuances that tell is things are more complicatd then they seem. cloud atlas is still my favorite tho

>34 dianelouise100: Well done for spotting this as part of the Napoleonic era, or thereabouts. I really enjoyed it, as I did the completely different Number 9 dream, also based in Japan.
I think Cloud Atlas is his best, and after that it has been a bit downhill.

Several weeks ago, I found very good copies of both this book and Cloud Atlas at a used book store. Jacob de Zoet did fit the time theme, so now Cloud Atlas will be my next David Mitchell. I’m adding Number 9 Dream to Tbr, thanks for the suggestion. I loved the Japanese setting!

The best part of Joseph Fouchés career was spent under Bonaparte. Stefan Zweig's book is a bit frustrating because he gives absolutely no sources.

Les proies de l'officier is a mystery set during Napoleon's Russian campaign and fails as a mystery.

But how did I miss the bicentenary of Napoleon's death in May?? Where was I?

2022 RTT Jan-Mar Quarterly thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/336647#

I'm counting Grimms Morde here because it is set in March 1821, shortly before Napoleon's death, and the time of the French occupation of Hessen-Kassel plays a large role in the mystery. There's also mention of a failed uprising against Jérôme which bears on the plot and which I've never heard about. I hope to find out more...

I have also finished Bunte Steine, a collection of six stories. The last one, Bergmilch (Rock Milk), is an episode from the Napoleonic Wars. However, I have no idea how this title relates to the story...

I finished Thomas Hardy's The Trumpet Major 3*** a couple or three days ago. It's set in the Napoleonic era, Hardy's one historical novel, and it reminds me a bit of Elizabeth Gaskell's Sylvia's Lovers (which, with my Brontean bias, I prefer). The Trumpet Major tends a bit toward comedy, with a buffoonish upper-class suitor who'd never survive in today's Me Too era, along with two brothers who are also in love with the target of the buffoon's affections.

The three-way romantic interest is a bit unrealistic, especially as between the two brothers, and the ending is a bit forced. Also, Gaskell's depiction of British naval impressments is a good deal more realistic than Hardy's.

Oh well, I needed a Napoleonic book, I've already read Hardy's The Dynasts (5***** love it, but I'm a definite minority here), and I just couldn't get myself up for reading John Bew's more than 700-page Castlereagh: A Life.

I haven’t done well with the quarterly reads this year. Hope to do better next year. I did fit in one for the Napoleonic Era. An Infamous Army was one of Georgette Heyer’s historical novels. This one was about the battle of Waterloo. The romance between a couple of the characters served to keep the narrative on track through a bewildering number of characters and many battle scenes.

Dead Reckoning sees Royal Navy Captain Richard Delancey confounding the French in the Indian Ocean.