Stopping Napoleon
Tom Pocock

Stopping Napoleon

After his defeat by Nelson at Trafalgar, Napoleon knew he could never invade England. Many thought he would try to take over the vast, crumbling Ottoman Empire, return to Egypt and even march on India. So the British concentrated on the Mediterranean: for a decade it became the scene of dangers - real or imagined - and of battles - both on land and at sea. All was dictated by a fierce determination to stop Napoleon.

There were triumphs and disasters in remote and exotic places, and a Trafalgar in miniature was fought between frigate squadrons in the Adriatic. The Peninsular War might well have been fought in another peninsula: Italy. Bizarre rulers had to be flattered, or fought: the Bourbons in Palmero and Napoleon's dashing brother-in-law, Marshal Murat, King of Naples. The successors to Nelson and predecessors of Wellington fought there, amongst them Lord Collingwood, Sir Sidney Smith and Sir John Moore. Napoleon himself materialised at his most magnificent in Venice and in humiliating exile on Elba. Of course, Napoleon himself did not see it like that, and the outcome was startling for all...

Book Details:

  • Author: Tom Pocock
  • Published Year: 2004
  • Rights Sold
    • UK: John Murray
Tom Pocock

Tom Pocock

Tom Pocock is the author of 18 books (and editor of two more), mostly biographies but including two about his experiences as a newspaper war correspondent.Born in London in 1925 - the son of the novelist and educationist Guy Pocock - he was educated at Westminster School and Cheltenham College, joining the Royal Navy in 1943. He was at sea during the invasion of Normandy and, having suffered from ill-health, returned to civilian life and in 1945 became a war correspondent at the age of 19,the youngest of the Second World War.After four years wth the Hulton Press current affairs magazine gro...
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Book Reviews

  • "Pocock has restored this neglected campaign to its true importance in this lively and important book"
    John Crossland, Sunday Times
  • "compendiously detailed, expert analysis ... No detail escapes Mr Pocock"
    Robert Stewart, The Spectator
  • "an enthralling read"
    Brighton Argus
  • "this fast-paced, beautifully written account should be read by all aficionados of the age of Nelson and Napoleon."
    Andrew Lambert, Times Literary Supplement