rec request

[sixbeforelunch]

Can anyone recommend a non-fiction book about the Napoleonic Wars that's more focused on the sociology and politics of the era than the nitty gritty of the battles? High level overviews of the various engagements are fine but my eyes glaze over when confronted with twenty pages of detailed battle descriptions and military tactics. Unfortunately most people who write war histories tend to want to talk way more about that sort of thing than I have patience for.

Comments

[rekishi]

Have you already taken a look at The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo? It got recced to me a while back but I haven't managed to read it myself. But it fits in the period and Dumas had interactions with Napoleon...

[sixbeforelunch]

That looks interesting, thanks!

[garonne]

How about:

Politics:

The age of revolution : Europe, 1789-1848 - Hobsbawm

Regency Spies: Secret Histories of Britain's Rebels & Revolutionaries - Sue Wilkes

Sociology (England-specific):

Passengers: Life in Britain During the Stagecoach Era - James Hobson

Dark Days of Georgian Britain: Rethinking the Regency - James Hobson

The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in Georgian England - Amanda Vickery (long 18th century including Napoleonic Wars period)

English society in the eighteenth century - Roy Porter (long 18th century including Napoleonic Wars period, as far as I remember)

[sixbeforelunch]

Thanks! The Age of Revolution looks very much like what I am searching for, and some of those other books look interesting as well.

[princessofgeeks]

I can't recommend a book but there was an absolutely fascinating article in Smithsonian Magazine about the differences in how the Brits see Napolean and how the French do, and an attempt at an objective look at what he accomplished. I can't remember what year it was but it should be in their archives. It was probably published on some important Napolean anniversary; I know I read it in a hard copy before the pandemic.

Good luck!

[sixbeforelunch]

Oh interesting! I will see if I can find it.