François Collaveri, La franc-maçonnerie des Bonaparte, Paris, Payot

Was Napoleon a freemason? How was it that freemasonry, which had disappeared during the Revolution, was not only reborn, but found supporters, became a quasi-official imperial institution, and exploited collaboration strategies, all enabling France to take over neighbouring states? Patronised by the imperial family and their associates, freemasonry became an instrument of power in exchange for protection. In his book, François Collaveri looks at the European lodges which were created within military units and by civil servants and magistrates sent abroad to the occupied countries, illuminating the collaboration of these parliamentaries and notables with the imperial authorities. Certain vassal states were thus able to enjoy a kind of independence from Paris, but always under the authority of the Grand Master Napoleon Bonaparte.

New paperback edition in 2007.