NAPOLEON A Life Told in Gardens and Shadows

Male authors and male voices dominate the many audiobooks devoted to Napoleon, which are usually shaped by his military and political history. Here, Ruth Scurr, one of our most original and engaging historians, reconstructs Napoleon's life from the perspective of the gardens he kept, first, as a military cadet and, later, when he was in exile on Elba and St. Helena. In surprising ways, gardens figure in Napoleon's life--in particular, his marriage to Josephine. Tanya Cubric's rich British-inflected narration captures with particular spirit and grace a portrait that has been many times depicted, but comes to life here fresh and richly highlighted and shaded. Cubric summons an atmosphere and a degree of immediacy few biographies achieve. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2021]