History Prize 1978

Joseph MOUGINS-ROQUEFORT, Napoléon prisonnier vu par les Anglais, Paris: Éditions Tallandier. Most French historians working on the life of Napoleon at St Helena have ignored the English sources, limiting themselves to the narratives produced by those close to the Emperor. This book is the first to take into account and translate into French the testimony of the jailers and other inhabitants of the island, thereby giving French readers a more detailed portrait of the emperor during his exile. Joseph de Mougins-Roquefort’s research work is careful and thorough. This is a totally original study based twenty-seven sources previously unpublished in French. Whether hostile or friendly, whether from leading personalities or secondary figures in the island drama, the evidence presented in this book brings French readers greater understanding of the subject, a more accurate picture, and a more realistic and moving account of Napoleon’s final years.