From 1804 to 1815, more than 1400 officers served in the most powerful branch of the French Napoleonic cavalry, the cuirassiers. From the youngest second lieutenant to the most seasoned major general, all fought with gallantry in these elite regiments. The result of many years of research and investigation, this detailed work shows these officers careers, packed with portraits, records of battles and heraldry. Major Olivier Lapray, a pilot officer in the French Air Force, is a dedicated enthusiast of the First Empire. His thorough researche in public and private archives has allowed him to build up this comprehensive record book of every officer of this elite branch of service.

Major art movements and artists of nineteenth-century Europe, from the French Revolution to World War I, are presented alphabetically in a dictionary format. Artists and art movements are integrated within the politics and culture of the times. An examination of the prominent authors, politicians, rulers, writers, and musicians, who often posed for artists provides an historical background against which to study these famous, obscure, traditional, and avant-garde artists. Entries include the artists' models, many of whom became romantically involved with the artists, and the artworks in which the models appear. This focus on the European continent, rather than on one specific country, surveys the interconnected influences and politics that pervaded the lives of the artists during this age when Europe was powerful culturally and politically, and helps to explain the various art movements, such as the Neo-Classical, Romantic, Realist, Impressionist, Fauvist, Cubist, Expressionist, and Abstract, that consequently evolved. Art history scholars, artists, and anyone with an interest in European art and politics will appreciate the organization and detail of this comprehensive volume. The alphabetical entries, coupled with straightforward and accessible writing, make this reference both informative and engaging. As a research tool, entries are cross-referenced, and a bibliography provides a useful guide to further research.

The author of Waterloo: The Truth at Last “sheds new light on the campaign of 1815 and surely will satisfy all with an interest in the Napoleonic Era” (The Napoleonic Historical Society Newsletter). When Napoleon returned to Paris after exile on the Island of Elba, he appealed to the European heads of state to be allowed to rule France in peace. His appeal was rejected and the Emperor of the French knew he would have to fight to keep his throne. In just eight weeks, Napoleon assembled 128,000 soldiers in the French Army of the North and on 15 June moved into Belgium (then a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands). Before the large Russian and Austrian armies could invade France, Napoleon hoped to defeat two coalition armies, an Anglo-Dutch-Belgian-German force under the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army led by Prince von Blücher. He nearly succeeded. Paul Dawson’s examination of the troops who fought at Ligny, Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, is based on thousands of pages of French archival documents and translations. With hundreds of photographs of original artifacts, supplemented with scores of lavish color illustrations, and dozens of paintings by the renowned military artist Keith Rocco, Napoleon’s Waterloo Army is the most comprehensive, and extensive, study ever made of the French field army of 1815, and its uniforms, arms and equipment. “Contains many rare and previously unpublished images in the form of full color drawings and photographs of surviving relics. As with the earlier volumes, this book will appeal to and be enjoyed by a wide readership with special interest for historians, military history enthusiasts, Napoleonic War enthusiasts and re-enactors.” —Firetrench

This book examines the politics of legitimacy as they played out across Europe in response to Napoleon’s dramatic return to power in France after his exile to Elba in 1814. Napoleon had to re-establish his claim to power with initially minimal military resources. Moreover, as the rest of Europe united against him, he had to marshal popular support for his new regime, while simultaneously demanding men and money to back what became an increasingly inevitable military campaign. The initial return – known as ‘the flight of the eagle’ – gradually turned into a dogged attempt to bolster support using a range of mechanisms, including constitutional amendments, elections, and public ceremonies. At the same time, his opponents had to marshal their resources to challenge his return, relying on populations already war-weary and resentful of the costs they had had to bear. The contributors to this volume explore how, for both sides, cultural politics became central in supporting or challenging the legitimacy of these political orders in the path to Waterloo.