Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne served as Napoleon Bonaparte’s private secretary from their school days together through the height of the Empire, giving him an unparalleled vantage point for this sprawling memoir. Drawing on personal observation and intimate acquaintance, Bourrienne’s account covers Napoleon’s character, habits, political methods, and military genius alongside the great events of the age.
While Bourrienne’s reliability has sometimes been questioned by historians, his memoir remains one of the most vivid and detailed accounts of Napoleon from someone who knew him personally. Download the complete text as a free EPUB for an indispensable insider view of the Emperor.