Napoleon, was he hero or villain? An enlightened genius or supreme egotist? Superb diplomat or an immoral usurper? All of the above? Continuing with Part II of our Napoleon series, we take a closer look into his greatest achievements as well as his greatest mistakes. From his coronation as Emperor at Notre-Dame in 1804 to his loss at Waterloo in 1815, this man’s story is seemingly inexhaustible. Has the world ever seen his equal either before or since? We’ll leave that for you to decide.

Notes:

• Though buried at St. Helena's when he died in 1821, by 1840 Napoleon's legacy was such that some two decades later he was brought back to France in 1840 with great ceremony of state and placed in the Hotel des Invalides where he still resides.

Books:

• The Congress of Vienna: A Study of Allied Unity: 1812-1822 by Harold Nicolson
• Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars by David C. Chandler
• Europe: From the Renaissance to Waterloo by Robert Ergang
• The Napoleonic Wars by Richard Holmes
• Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts
• Napoleon: A Concise Biography by David A. Bell

Film: 

• Napoleon (2003 TV Miniseries) staring Christian Clavier