Geofrey James Ellis. . : Longman, 1997. viii + 290 pp. $24.00, textbook, ISBN 978-0-582-02547-9.

Reviewed by Martyn Lyons

Published on H-France (August, 1997)

Suddenly, the long drought of good teaching though Ellis's approach is a traditional one, this is books in English on the Napoleonic era is over. a little unfair to his book, which does not pretend We now have not only the broad sweep of Stuart to ofer a full political biography. All the same, it Woolf's excellent Napoleon's Integration of Eu‐ certainly begins like one, with Napoleon's child‐ rope (Routledge, 1991), but also Michael Broers's hood in "proud" and "rugged" Corsica. It contains under Napoleon, 1799-1815 (Arnold & St. in addition much speculation about his sexual life Martin's Press, 1996 [see H-France review, August and alleged sexual indiference, and his relations 1997]), my own Napoleon Bonaparte and the with Josephine, with odd forays into psychohisto‐ Legacy of the (Macmillan UK ry inspired by the Napoleonic historian Harold and St. Martin's Press, 1994), as well as the book Parker. But essentially this is an analysis of reviewed here. Three out of these four titles are Napoleonic power, how it was established, elabo‐ by authors with a previous connection to the rated, and extended. As his secondary aim, Ellis work of the late Richard Cobb. Given Cobb's per‐ tries to confront the historiographical debates of sonal prejudices against Napoleonic studies, this the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In is indeed a paradoxical situation. spite of Ellis's lucid treatment, the limitations of Ellis is an Oxford-based historian, responsible the series and of its fundamental assumptions are for a short textbook entitled The Napoleonic Em‐ clearly apparent. They do not permit the author to pire (Macmillan UK, 1991), as well as his major give a full analysis of the social context in which work, a study of Alsace during the Empire which Napoleonic power operated, either in France or in remains a fundamental reference point for any Europe as a whole. inquiry into the impact of the Continental Block‐ Considering this emphasis on power, Ellis ade. His new book appears in the Longmans Pro‐ tells us surprisingly little about the actual seizure fles in Power series, apparently conceived in the of power. There is a very sketchy account of the spirit of the "Great Man" theory of history. Al‐ coup of brumaire, in which Lucien Bonaparte H-Net Reviews rather misleadingly "persuades" the deputies to Ellis's emphasis on the gradual evolution of disperse (p. 32). It might be more exact to say that imperial power cries out for a chronological ap‐ Lucien "persuaded" the soldiers to throw the proach. But Ellis takes a thematic approach, thus deputies out. A student wanting to fnd out why blurring and telescoping chronological develop‐ Bonaparte came to power in the frst place will ments and weakening his own thesis. In the end not get much of an answer from this book. his account gives us little clear sense of develop‐ Ellis's main argument really emerges from ment from Consulate to Empire, especially within the dialogue he conducts throughout his book France itself. with Stuart Woolf. In Napoleon's Integration of This book has much to ofer on the adminis‐ Europe, Woolf tended to see imperial expansion trative, fscal, and economic history of the period. as a modernising force, the extension of a French As we might expect from a leading authority on vision of rational administration by an increasing‐ the subject, there is a useful and concise section ly professional bureaucracy promoted by the on the Continental Blockade itself. Ellis emphasis‐ Napoleonic state. Although Woolf was perfectly es the development of Napoleon's personal au‐ well aware of local resistance to the imposition of thority right from the beginning of his career. Giv‐ any universal plan of integration--and had no illu‐ en this personalisation of authority, he argues, the sions about its many local adaptations--he never‐ republicanism of the Consulate was a sham. theless discussed the Empire in terms of a coher‐ The discussion of power and imperial expan‐ ent "Napoleonic Project." Ellis is too much of an sion lacks a social dimension, which may partly at empiricist to be comfortable with this interpreta‐ least be a fault of the Profles in Power series. tion (and this is where Richard Cobb's legacy is There are barely two pages on the overall social apparent). For Ellis, there was no preconceived impact of the Empire on the conquered territories imperial plan. Instead, he argues, the Empire was (pp. 140-41). Where are the peasants in this story? improvised according to military circumstances As usual, they are only discussed in the pre‐ and political opportunity. "What made Napoleonic dictable context of resistance to conscription. The imperialism possible," he writes, "was its gradual‐ commercial and industrial classes hardly make an ism" (p. 6), and again, "the social accretions of Em‐ appearance in their own right, either. Napoleonic pire did not appear all at once, like a crop of history is a notoriously "macho" subject, but little mushrooms overnight; they came in staggered attempt is made here to compensate for this de‐ phases, which were themselves determined by faut. Ellis does not discuss power and its impact in the chronology of war" (pp. 136-37). gender terms, except for the routine walk-on per‐ This simple idea, however, is not fully devel‐ formance by Germaine de Stael, mistress of an im‐ oped. Ellis even tends to betray his own thesis by portant political salon during the revolution and acknowledging the Code Napoleon as ready-made then an infuential novelist. This is history from for global export, and by inviting us to see the above--Ellis is only interested in the Empire's so‐ Continental Blockade as a system or a "market de‐ cial impact as far as it afected the nobility, seen sign" (pp. 108-10). But he views the Empire as a through the eyes of the La Tour du Pin family. "spoils system", in which French exactions and in‐ One chapter discusses the historiography of stitutionalised plunder undermined the egalitari‐ the Napoleonic legend, but unfortunately Ellis an potential of social reforms. The internal con‐ only takes us up to the Second World War. He thus tradictions of the Empire are well-exposed here deprives the reader of a potentially stimulating by the author. discussion of J. M. Thompson, Francois Crouzet, Louis Bergeron, Francois Furet, Jean Tulard, and

2 H-Net Reviews others who have pushed aside the dated work of Peter Geyl and Felix Markham. Ellis uses words like "proleptic," "irenic," "es‐ chewed" and "Pyrrhic" and cites an erudite refer‐ ence to Glaucon, suggesting that he has not thought hard enough about the vocabulary most likely to succeed in an undergraduate text. And he overuses the word "nicely"--what does it mean? Overall, we are indebted to Ellis for providing two clear and concise chapters summarising the reforms of the Consulate, and the territorial ex‐ pansion of the Empire. The concluding pages of this book, too, are admirably short and sharp. The rest is a disappointment, for two main reasons: because we need to understand the exercise of power in a fuller social context, and because Woolf's account remains for me denser, more solidly developed, and therefore more convincing. Copyright (c) 1997 by H-Net, all rights re‐ served. This work may be copied for non-proft educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ tact [email protected].

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Citation: Martyn Lyons. Review of Ellis, Geofrey James. Napoleon. H-France, H-Net Reviews. August, 1997.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=1223

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