The Emperor's Last Island

One of the Most Curious Books I Have Read

One of the most curious books I have ever read as Ms. Blackburn tried to fill hundreds of pages with the final six years of Napoleon’s life on the island of St. Helena, albeit when so little seemed to have happened that one wonders why a book would be published on the subject at all.

Many chapters begin with quotes from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’ which should tip the reader off that were about to head into the rabbit hole on this one. No illustrations, reproductions, maps, just text.

But readers are treated to such gems as:

‘Between October 1820, when Napoleon drank champagne and ate potted meats with the Dovetons on the lawn of their garden overlooking Sandy Bay, and May 1821, when he died in the drawing-room at Longwood, nothing much happened. (And at this point there is still 1/3 of the book to wade through, oh dear.)

or my favorite a few pages later, a one sentence paragraph:

‘February 1821, and there is still March, April and the first days of May to go before the end.’ (And at this point there was still 1/3 of the book to wade through, minus a few pages. Certainly a must read for calendar enthusiasts, but I was grateful that Ms. Blackburn spared us the ticking of the clocks.)

And just in case you were curious about Ms. Blackburn’s quals or writing chops, she is described in ‘About the Author’ as living ‘in Suffolk, England with her husband and their two children.’ Nothing more.