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There is no more marvellous story in human history than that of Napoleon I., Emperor of the French. His career is one long demonstration of the reality of the proverb, "Truth is stranger than fiction." So fascinating are the details of a life in which so much was attempted and accomplished that many thousands of volumes have been published dealing with its various phases. The demand is by no means exhausted, the supply continuous, as witness the present work. Busy pens are still employed in reviewing the almost superhuman activities of the once obscure Corsican, whose genius for war and conquest upset many a throne, secured for him the Overlordship of Europe, and eventually consigned him to an island prison.
Boxing was phenomenally popular in 18th and 19th century Britain. Aristocrats attended matches and patronized boxers, and the most important fights drew tens of thousands of spectators. Promoters of the sport claimed that it showcased the timeless and authentic ideal of English manhood--a rock of stability in changing times. Yet many of the best fighters of the era were Irish, Jewish or black. This history focuses on how boxers, journalists, politicians, pub owners and others used national, religious and racial identities to promote pugilism and its pure English pedigree, even as ethnic minorities won distinction in the sport, putting the diversity of the Empire on display.
Lord Kitchener and Lord Haig are two monumental figures of the First World War. Their reputations, both in their lifetimes and after their deaths, have been attacked and defended, scrutinized and contested. They have been depicted in film, print and public memorials in Britain and the wider world, and new biographies of both men appear to this day. The material representations of Haig and Kitchener were shaped, used and manipulated for official and popular ends by a variety of groups at different times during the twentieth century. The purpose of this study is not to discover the real individual, nor to attack or defend their reputations, rather it is an exploration of how both men have been...
Sir William Congreve, political propagandist, lawyer, inventor, and Chief Equerry to King George IV, was one of the foremost military salesmen of the early nineteenth century. When England faced the overwhelming might of Napoleonic France, Sir William championed the potential of secret weapons, notably gunpowder rockets, mass-produced by the latest advances in manufacturing science. His was a world of fireships, bomb brigs, invasion fleets, experimental warfare, espionage, and the intense hostility of rival “projectors”. By turns acclaimed, derided, libelled and sued, Congreve belonged to a colourful breed whose influence on history is frequently overlooked. Yet for those who care to notice, his name and works are widely commemorated from the dark side of the moon to the most resounding phrases of the American National Anthem.
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