Napoleon and the Revolution

This new study of Napoleon emphasizes his ties to the French Revolution, his embodiment of its militancy, and his rescue of its legacies. Jordan's work illuminates all aspects of his fabulous career, his views of the Revolution and history, the artists who created and embellished his image, and much of his talk about himself and his achievements.

Napoleon was much more than a warlord consumed by vanity and ambition. He was the very spirit of the militant Revolution. Virtually everything he did during the fifteen years of his preponderance was derived from and linked to the French Revolution.
Much of his hold over contemporaries was his embodiment of the aspirations as well as the boundless energy of the Revolution. Even his enemies, foreign and domestic, were fascinated by the man and uniformly saw him as 'the Revolution on horseback'.
He fought off vengeful reactionary powers long enough for the Revolution to sink deep and permanent roots in France. The Allies who finally defeated Napoleon found it impossible to undo his subversive work - the genie of the Revolution was out of the bottle, and for good. Through his incessant table talk and dictated autobiography, he focused the attention of posterity, inculcating his version of himself, events, and their significance.