In this wide-ranging conversation, Cameron reconnects with historian and longtime friend J. David Markham on the eve of his 80th birthday. They reflect on two decades of working together on the Napoleon podcast, swap family updates, and dive into Markham’s latest projects—including his forthcoming book Simply Caesar and several Napoleonic works in progress. The discussion turns to the reception of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, the importance of history for understanding today’s politics, and the challenges of civility in an increasingly polarized age. Markham also shares stories from Napoleonic society gatherings, his vast personal collection, and his perspective on America’s political trajectory. It’s a rich blend of personal reflection, Napoleonic passion, and urgent political commentary.

The post Napoleon #62 – 20 Years of Napoleon and Friendship appeared first on Napoleon.

Join J. David Markham and Cameron Reilly as they re-unite after nearly a decade to dissect the travesty that is Ridley Scott’s 2023 film, “Napoleon”… for two-and-a-quarter hours.

The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #61 – Ridley’s Travesty appeared first on Napoleon.

After a break of 3.5 years, WE’RE BACK, BABY!

Sir J. David Markham – yes, he’s an actual KNIGHT now (see photo below) –  and Cameron Reilly are back with a brand new episode. And what brought the show out of retirement, we hear you ask?

The wonderful new 800-page biography by Andrew Roberts “Napoleon The Great”, we reply.

Andrew joined us from NYC to explain how he manages to both be British *and* a fan of Napoleon; why Napoleon was a funny dude who cracked jokes even while on the battlefield; why Napoleon wasn’t the evil warmonger he’s often portrayed as by the British; why his marriage to Josephine wasn’t Romeo & Juliette; and what his biggest mistake was.

Andrew’s book has recently been awarded the Grand Prix prize by the Fondation Napoleon and as of this Saturday will be listed in the NY Times bestseller lists (which, as you can probably guess, doesn’t happen with Napoleonic books very often).

If you want to skip the preamble between David and Cameron and get straight to the interview, it starts about 20 minutes in.

The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #60 – Andrew Roberts, Napoleon The Great appeared first on Napoleon.

Here’s a plug for the Life Of Caesar podcast, hosted by Cameron and Ray Harris. It’s been going since Dec ’13, has about 80,000 listeners and ranks in the Top 100 podcasts in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN, so check it out!

The post Check Out The Caesar Show appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks!

It’s been nearly 18 months since the last podcast! Can you believe it!?

This is a special episode to celebrate and promote a special Napoleonic event that is currently happening in Melbourne – Napoleon: Revolution to Empire.

I had the chance today to chat with Sophie Matthiesson, one of the curators at the National Gallery of Victoria. We spoke about how the exhibition came to be, a bit about some of the pieces on display (such as the wonderful “Napoleon Crossing The Alps” by David) and what she hopes people who attend the exhibition will learn about Napoleon.

I highly recommend attending the exhibition if you can and, if you can’t, at least check out the NGV website to read up on the exhibition.

The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #59 – Napoleon @ The NGV appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back!

I know, I know, it’s been 8 months since our last podcast. Sorry folks.

On this episode, our special guest is again Nicholas Stark, a 20-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008, and who is studying at West Chester University in Philadelphia and a Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society.

Today Nicholas regales us with the story of Wolfe Tone, a leading figure in the United Irishmen Irish independence movement and who is regarded as the father of Irish republicanism.

Although Napoleon doesn’t feature greatly in this story, as most of it takes place while his career was just beginning, it is a tremendous tale of the French Revolution, the Directory and the Irish independence movement and it leads to some wondrous “what if” scenarios.

What if the French has assisted the Irish in their rebellion?

What impact would a English defeat to the French and Irish in 1796 have had on the rest of the Revolutionary Wars?

Could England have survived a two-front war with one of those on it’s own doorstep?

Nick adds:

The total Irish casualties in 1798 were 20,000 (more than Terror victims in French Rev except for Vendée), plus I want to add an acknowledgment of Cécile Déjardin and Stephen Dunford, who both have helped me with my research.

Music for this show: Sibina McCague and Padraig McGovern Moran’s Hornpipe*Byrnes Hornpipe), Paidin O Raifeartaigh

The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #58 – Wolfe Tone & The Irish Rebellions 1796-98 appeared first on Napoleon.

And once again we are fortunate to have Nicholas Stark back on the show to finish our series on Napoleon and Haiti.

Today we focus on the claims that Napoleon directly ordered atrocities to be committed in Haiti.

Did Napoleon, as Claude Ribbe claims, invent the gas chamber? (We find no evidence for that.)

Did the French troops in Haiti under Generals Leclerc and Rochambeau commit terrible atrocities against the Haitians?

Did the Haitians under Loverture commit atrocities?

I read from Napoleon’s orders to Leclerc and quote a poem from Wordsworth.

And, most importantly, is it true that Rochambeau invented Rock-Paper-Scissors?

The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #57 – Haiti Pt 3 appeared first on Napoleon.

We’re back with Nicholas Stark to discuss St. Domingo / Haiti and Napoleon’s reinstitution of slavery in 1802. Was Toussaint L’Overture really a “saint” (his name translates as “all saints” or “all souls opening”)? Was Napoleon really a racist?

Nick does another amazing job of delving into the primary sources from this period to paint a picture of Napoleon’s motivations for his actions and his subsequent regrets.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback we had from the last episode. I’m sure you’ll agree that Nick does an amazing job for a 19-year old undergrad. He has a huge career ahead of him.

The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #56 – Nick Stark on Haiti (Part Two) appeared first on Napoleon.

WELCOME BACK!

I know – it’s been a long, long…. long time!

But we are glad to be back!

On this episode, our special guest is Nicholas Stark, a 19-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008. Nicholas is an undergraduate at West Chester University and a Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society, who has an article published in Volume 3 of the Internatonal Napoleonic Society’s Journal and who authored a paper on Napoleon and Haiti which was recently read (by INS “First Lady” Barbara Markham) at the recent INS Congress held in Malta.

One topic we often get requests to talk about in more detail is Napoleon’s involvement in the restoration of slavery in Haiti after the slave revolt lead by Toussaint L’overture. It’s a fascinating topic that is often dredged up as a criticism of Napoleon and indeed one which requires much further discussion on this podcast. In fact, this is only part one of the discussion and we’ll finish it up in at least one additional episode in coming weeks.

In this episode, Nicholas helps us understand more about the background to the slave revolt in Haiti (or Saint Domingue as it was known at the time), the role of the French Revolution and fascinating characters such as Léger-Félicité Sonthonax.

If you want to follow Nicholas’ activities or chat with him, you can find him on Twitter and his blog.

And don’t forget to keep an eye on the INS site and to buy some of David’s excellent books!

Oh and if anyone is interested, today’s version of La Marsellaise can be found here. It’s the one by Mireille Mathieu.

The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #55 – Nicholas Stark on Napoleon and Haiti (part one) appeared first on Napoleon.

Our own J. David Markham was recently interviewed on Australian radio regarding a lock of Napoleon’s hair recently found in Sydney’s town hall.

Listen to David’s interview here!

The post David Markham on Australia’s ABC Radio appeared first on Napoleon.