The Napoleonic Quarterly

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1799 recap: The French go backwards

July 04, 2026

Our recap episodes, which offer a synthesis of our 1792-1804 coverage one year at a time, have reached 1799 - a year in which Napoleon Bonaparte achieves an astonishing turnaround in fortunes which ends with him in power. Chris Sloan talks presenter Alex Stevenson through specific key clips he's picked out from our old episodes grouped around four themes which, we argue, help frame the period and shape our understanding of it in a whole new way. We hope this will provide a helpful refresh...

Napoleon's dark night of the soul (screenplay plotting, mins 75-90)

June 24, 2026

In the sixth 15-minute section of our screenplay, Napoleon plunges into his darkest hour. Reeling from betrayal and defeat, he confronts the plague-ridden horrors of his campaign in the Levant and faces the brutal consequences of war, both on the battlefield and within himself. The myth of his invincibility shatters as failed sieges and the massacre at Jaffa weigh on his conscience. Josephine’s infidelity and his own disillusionment reach a crisis, forcing Napoleon towards a reckoning with hi...

Waterloo teaser: The myth of Hougoumont

June 21, 2026

Charles Esdaile has a lot to get off his chest when it comes to the Battle of Waterloo - which is why he surprised me recently by asking to do what turned into a three-hour mythbusting session working through what he thinks everyone's getting wrong about the ultimate Napoleonic encounter.As this podcast won't be making it to Waterloo for years and years - we're talking the 2030s here, people - I'm not going to stick it up on the main feed right now. On the other hand, it's...