Napoleon

At the time when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed control of France, Europe and the French Revolution had been at war for over seven years, and except for a brief interruption, this conflict was to last until 1815. The 18 Brumaire did not in itself mark the end of an epoch. It might be more logical to say that the period of peace which followed the Treaty of Amiens was the dividing point between two eras. True, when considering the internal history of France, one sees that the coup d'état of Brumaire opened the way for the restoration of personal power. In this respect, the contrast between the Napoleonic and Revolutionary periods is well defined, but their essential unity cannot be ignored. It was to the Revolution that Bonaparte owed his marvellous destiny. He was able to force himself upon republican France precisely because an internal necessity fated that country to dictatorship as long as the partisans of the Old Regime strove to re-establish the monarchy with the help of foreign powers. - Introduction.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.