Napoleon and Doctor Verling on St Helena

Great Britain: Pen and Sword Books Limited, 2005. Hardback. Verling was based on St. Helena during Napoleon's imprisonment and at one point he was even appointed as Napoleon's official physician. It was not to be, however, as Napoleon refused to accept a doctor appointed by his hated jailor, Sir Hudson Lowe, without putting restrictions on the relationship that were unacceptable to both Verling and Lowe. The politics, often petty, of this situation are fascinating and offer an amazing look at life on this remote island. Throughout his stay, this young Irish doctor kept a vivid and detailed diary of his experiences, which is published here for the first time, augmented with important letters between the principal plays and with an introduction and analysis by Napoleonic scholar J. David Markham. Through Verling's eyes we get a fresh view of daily life on the island and of the suspicion-filled artificial society that grew up around Napoleon during his last years. Issues of high European politics foprm the background to Verling's story. But in the foreground and of daily concern are the gossip and petty intrigue that consumed the attention of the principal characters who found themselves caught up in the strange drama of St. Helena . Over them all, of course, is the looming prescence of the ex-Emperor himself, cooped up with his tiny court during the tieme of his isolation, decline and death. Illustrated. 178 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions etc.). First Edition. Cloth. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Harback.