This is a St Helena centric re-telling of Napoleon's final years in exile - somewhat esoteric but containing nuggets of remarkable information - why did a French functionary carry on to St Helena in 1919, despite his ship being torpedoed in 1917, as a consequence of which his young daughter died, his wife had her thighs partly amputated to ward off gangrene and the party spent two years convalescing in Spain - so arriving on St Helena over two years late! The saving grace for this reader/reviewer is that I had the good fortune to visit the island, adding a further dynamic to my appreciation of this book. ( )

This curious omnium-gahterum collects, in decreasing order of interest, reflections on the Napoleonic legend, a history of St. Helena and,especially, the various sites there which are associated with the Emperor, a title search of said properties, and an inventory of the various pieces of realia from the houses. The author contributes some interesting musings when he's thinking about the big picture, but the endless inventories of furniture and title transfers are mind-numbing. ( )