Napoleon and his Marshals

In 1804, immediately after he appointed himself Emperor, Napoleon created the Marshalate, the supreme military honour of the empire. Over the next decade, he elevated to it some of his most outstanding generals who played leading roles in his extraordinary campaigns – including the courageous Ney, the flamboyant Murat, the tenacious Masséna, the iron Davout and the meticulous Berthier.

Some of them were sons of aristocrats, others of innkeepers or coopers, but all carried the baton of a Marshal of France. Napoleon and his Marshals masterfully captures their personalities and ambitions, their capacities and rivalries, and their fiery relationship with their leader.

Andrew Roberts reveals that, unlike Lincoln, who forged a team of rivals, Napoleon created a nest of vipers: one whose lust for glory descended into destructive competitiveness and mutual recrimination. For all his inspiring qualities as a leader, he manipulated and undermined those whose loyalty he most needed to survive. Ultimately, only two among the twenty-six marshals rode beside him at Waterloo.

This dramatic and hugely enjoyable book by one of Britain's most admired historians is by far the richest narrative account of these brilliant figures and the role they played in making – and unmaking – history’s greatest warrior.