Modern history has produced one single myth on a heroic scale to rival those of Alexander and Caesar - that of Napoleon. The continuing fascination of this gifted man is reflected in the number of books published each year on various aspects of the Napoleonic legend: some 250,000 volumes in all since Napoleon's mysterious death in 1821. This biography offers an authoritative up-to-date account of Napoleon, concentrating especially on his private life. It examines: all stages of his developing and extraordinary career; his character, interests and tastes; his friendships, enmities and love affairs; his relations with the members of his family; the impressions he made on his contemporaries away from the council chamber and the battlefield; his personal life at war; his life in exile and as emperor in peacetime; and the mystery surrounding his death. In short, it reveals the man behind the soldier, statesman and legend...