The Napoleonic Quarterly

Bernie Campbell is joined by Alexander Mikaberidze and Rachel Blackman-Rogers to get their picks of the best books about one of the Napoleonic Wars' most consequential years. Covering all the angles of both the year's big campaign on the European continent, and the year's big campaign on the high seas: what book will change how you think about Trafalgar? Which are the best biographies of the main players? Are there any military histories missing from your bookshelf? One could get rather worked up about this sort of thing.
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1805. January... February... March... three months in which British telescopes looking out across the English Channel are trained on the north French coast... the Royal Navy waits in suspense for Frace's emperor to make his move... and the Italian republic is getting a new king - guess who. This is episode 52 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months of invasion tension.

[07:40] - headline developments
[12:20] - Ambrogio Caiani on Napoleon becoming King of Italy
[43:00] - Rachel Blackman-Rogers on naval strategy eyeing a cross-Channel invasion
[1:08:10] - John Gill on the Camp de Boulogne and the emerging Grande Armee

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With the relaunch period drawing to a close the time is now upon us, finally, when this podcast about the Napoleonic period actually gets to talk actually properly about the actual Napoleonic Wars. In one final build-up episode before episode 53 dives into Q1-1805, here's a last chance for Charles Esdaile and Alex Mikaberidze to consider the entirety of the 1805-15 period as a whole to answer the question: what should listeners expect will be different about what's to come, compared to what we've covered so far?

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Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1804 - the year in which France gets an emperor once again, and Europe gets an imperial-sized problem. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it in a whole new way. We hope this will provide a helpful refresh for longstanding listeners - whilst at the same time offering an 'entry ramp' to the podcast for those who want to get up to speed relatively easily (just) before we crash full-speed into the intensity of the Napoleonic Wars.

This episode covers a 12-month period in which there is plenty of change - and lots of slowly developing tension. As well as Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as Emperor following the uncovering of the Cadoudal-Pichegru plot earlier in the year, we see these themes mirrored in Britain becoming jumpy over intensifying French invasion threat, leading to William Pitt's return as prime minister. Russia breaks relations with France as a result of the deeply controversial kidnapping of the Duc D'Enghien, apparently on Napoleon's orders, whilst Britain moves against Spain by seizing its treasure ships. Old regimes like Austria are reshaping themselves with Francis becoming a new kind of emperor, whilst the United States is moving into new territory - literally - with the Lewis and Clark Expedition setting off.

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It is with a mixture of great embarrassment at my own over-acting and guilt at such outrageous self-indulgence that I, Alex Stevenson, presenter of the Napoleonic Quarterly, provide you, the poor suffering listeners, with an outpouring of thespian histrionics: the concluding episode of our screenplay-concocting relaunch side-project, the Napoleon Movie Quarter-Hourly. In this episode Ben Deery, who thankfully knows a thing or two about acting, works his way alongside my own miserable efforts through the most excitable scenes from the pen of James Topham, who knows a thing or two about screenwriting. Napoleon: One Last Job may never actually get made, but at least you get to hear a grown man pretend to be both Napoleon and Josephine in the same scene.
Or, perhaps more wisely, there is the opportunity to listen to the whole screenplay read by a surprisingly effective AI American lady on Patreon...
Please send through any comments or questions to the usual places - the hope is that we will be able to do a listener feedback episode, as well as putting this to the professors for their verdict.
Help us produce more episodes by supporting the Napoleonic Quarterly on Patreon: patreon.com/napoleonicquarterly