The Napoleonic Quarterly

1801. April... May... June... Three months in which Horatio Nelson pulverises the Danish fleet at Copenhagen... Napoleon Bonaparte turns his ire on the pro-British Portuguese... and war breaks out between the piratical Barbary States and the fledgeling US of A. This is episode 38 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months which show that, despite the wider drift towards a French-dominated peace, there is still plenty of scope for conflict.

09:26 - Mark Lawrence on the War of the Oranges between Portugal and Spain

31:17 - Liam Gauci on Tripoli's declaration of war against the United States

1:00:55 - Rachel Blackman-Rogers on the Battle of Copenhagen

While France was thrown into chaos by the revolution, the political situation in Britain wasn't exactly calm either.

Bernie Campbell sat down with Jacquelin Reiter and Neil Gregory Howe to talk about the tumultuous mood in Britain during the 1790s, Pitt's policies and much more.

Assassinating Napoleon Bonaparte, it turns out, was on the minds of lots of people frustrated with how the French Revolution was playing out. Off the back of the Infernal Machine attempt on the First Consul's life we've got an episode here about William Wordsworth, that most revered of English Romantic poets, who was so frustrated by the unfulfilled promise of the Revolution that he dreamed of assassinating Bonaparte in his poem The Prelude. To unpick Wordsworth's direct experience of life in Paris in the early 1790s and his subsequent frustrations with French politics - frustrations which remained firmly locked up in his head at the time - it's great to welcome Ruth N. Halls Professor Emeritus of English Kenneth Richard Johnston to the podcast. Ken's biography The Hidden Wordsworth revealed how the young, radical WW was a strikingly different figure from the more conservative character he was to assume later in life.

Liam Gauci, Curator at the Malta Maritime Museum in Valletta, joins Dr Rachel Blackman-Rogers to discuss the fascinating history of his very special island.

This episode is sponsored by Heritage Malta.

1801. January… February… March… Three months in which the assassination of Tsar Paul stuns Europe… The Act of Union brings together Britain and Ireland... And Austria and France sign the Treaty of Luneville, inking in French dominance in western Europe. This is episode 37 of the Napoleonic Quarterly - covering three months in which the grisly drama of a court assassination sets the stage for the Napoleonic dramas to come.

Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London, is an amazing historian whose books spanning a long and distinguished career reflect the breadth of her interests: she's written about Anglo-American relations over the decades, a biography of AJP Taylor, even a history of wine reflecting her own background growing up on a California grape farm. We cover off all the bases - and find out how they apply to the Napoleonic period - in this fascinating discussion.

Professor Alan Forrest of the University of York sat down with his long time academic friend Charles Esdaile to talk about the Napoleon Movie, the legacy of the Emperor and more.

Louis Sarkozy talks to Bernie Campbell about his upcoming book on Napoleon's Library, the cultural influence of the Emperor and how his legacy is seen today in France.

Professor Emeritus Michael Broers of the University of Oxford, biography of Napoleon and historical adviser to 'Napoleon' (2023), sat down virtually with his old chum and sparring partner Charles Esdaile. In this conversation they covered:

[02:00] - their shared outsider perspective on the French Revolution

[06:00] - the usefulness of the Napoleonic period in terms of boosting the power of the state

[13:00] - Different ways of looking at Napoleon - including as the greatest of the Enlightened absolutists

[25:00] - Writing about Napoleon Bonaparte, whether you're Andrew Roberts or not

[35:00] - The Hundred Days

[43:00] - 'Napoleon' (2023), the epic spectacle-filled movie blockbuster for which Prof Broers served as historical adviser

A Napoleonic professor is despatched to the field hospital, delaying our next main episode by a month. But we have lots of bonus episodes in the meantime.